BIGGEST LEVERAGED BUYOUTS.(Business)

Byline: Associated Press

If the management of RJR Nabisco Inc. proceeds with a $17 billion offer to acquire the company from shareholders, it would be the biggest leveraged buyout in U.S. history.

Here are some of the largest leveraged buyouts of American companies, including the principal buyers, the value and the year completed:

*Beatrice Cos., by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, $6.1 billion, 1986.

*Southland Corp., by Thompson family, $4.9 billion, 1987.

*Borg-Warner Corp., by Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, $4.2 billion, 1987.

*Safeway Stores Inc., by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, $4.2 billion, 1986.

*Montgomery Ward, …