S&P Equity Research Maintains 'Hold' (*** out of *****) on Shares of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco

S&P Equity Research Maintains 'Hold' (*** out of *****) on Shares of R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco 


NEW YORK, Oct. 28  /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's equity analyst covering
alcoholic beverages and tobacco companies has reiterated the STARS ranking on
shares of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco  at "Hold" (*** out of *****) at $48.02 per
share.  A leading provider of independent investment research, ratings and
indices, Standard & Poor's made this announcement through Standard & Poor's
MarketScope, its real-time market intelligence service.

"R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and British American Tobacco agreed to merge their U.S.
tobacco businesses to form a new publicly traded holding company, Reynolds
American," says Anishka Clarke, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Analyst,
Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services.  "British American will own 42%,
R.J. Reynolds shareholders will own 58%.  The transaction is expected to close
mid-2004 pending the usual approvals.  The transaction will give British
American a large presence in the U.S. and should provide scale economies to R.J.
Reynolds.  With combined sales in excess of $10 billion, and volume of about 136
billion units, Reynolds American should be a formidable competitor to Altria. 
After an 11% rise in its shares this morning, we would continue to hold shares
of R.J. Reynolds," concludes Clarke.

About Standard & Poor's STock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS) Standard &
Poor's STock Appreciation Ranking System (STARS), which was first introduced on
December 31, 1986, reflects the opinions of Standard & Poor's equity analysts on
the price appreciation potential of 1,200 U.S. stocks for the next 12 month
period.  Rankings range from five-STARS ("Buy") to one-STARS ("Sell").

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services has the largest U.S. equity coverage
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The analyst quoted above is a Standard & Poor's equity analyst.  He has no
affiliation with any company referenced above.  He has no ownership interest in
any company referenced above.  Standard & Poor's other affiliates may provide
services to the companies that are the subject of this report. Standard & Poor's
analytic services are performed as entirely separate activities in order to
preserve the independence of each analytic process.  In this regard, STARS,
which are published by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services, operates
independently from, and has no access to information

obtained by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which may in the course of its
operations obtain access to confidential information.

Standard & Poor's analytic services are performed as entirely separate
activities in order to preserve the independence of each analytic process.  In
this regard, STARS, which are published by Standard & Poor's Equity Research
Services, operates independently from, and has no access to information obtained
by Standard & Poor's Rating Services, which may in the course of its operations
obtain access to confidential information. 

DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's



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