TOP NEWS
* Bayer AG expects to close its $62.5 billion acquisition of seed manufacturer Monsanto Co. on June 7 after it received all the required approvals from regulators. As part of the deal, Monsanto will lose its name but its brands will retain their names and fall under Bayer's portfolio.
* HelloFresh SE will sell its meal kits at Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV-owned Giant Food Stores LLC and Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC locations in the U.S. The product will be available at 581 stores in June and the company said it plans to add more retailers in 2018.
FOOD RETAIL AND DISTRIBUTION
* Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is recalling select packages of its No Name-branded chicken burgers as they could expose consumers to salmonella bacteria if they are improperly prepared. The products being recalled have a best-before code of "2019 FE 06" that were sold before June 2. They were sold at stores in Ontario, Atlantic, Quebec and Western provinces of Canada.
PACKAGED FOODS
* Tyson Foods Inc. will sell its Sara Lee Frozen Bakery and Van's Foods businesses to private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. LLC for an undisclosed amount. The deal includes the Chef Pierre, Bistro Collection and Van's brands as well as permission to use the Sara Lee brand in certain channels. Food preparation facilities in Tarboro, N.C., and Traverse City, Mich., along with a sales office in Canada, are also included in the sale.
* Dean Foods Co. is set to close its Louisville plant, which will see more than 60 workers lose their jobs and the termination of contracts with 19 farmers, The Courier-Journal reported. The embattled company made this move as a part of its restructuring plan after Walmart Inc. canceled its contract with the company and decided to launch its own dairy processing facility in Fort Wayne, Ind. The laid-off workers include about 48 hourly workers and about 15 production managers and other office staff, the report added.
* Hindustan Unilever Ltd. is set to roll out traditional South Asian breakfast menu such as khichdi, upma and Pongal under its ayurveda brand Ayush, The Economic Times (India) reported. The Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch consumer giant The Unilever Group made this move amid the growing consumer demand for healthier and traditional alternatives. The products will compete with MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd., Kellogg's, PepsiCo Inc. and Marico Ltd. in the Rs 3,000-crore breakfast market, the Times added.
* Glanbia PLC, the Irish nutritional foods producer, appointed Martin Keane as group chairman, effective June 1. Keane will succeed Henry Corbally, while Patrick Murphy will replace Keane as vice chairman.
* French health authorities have extended the recall of Reblochon cheese made from a factory in the French Alps after 14 new cases of E. coli in children, aged 1 to 5, were discovered, Reuters reported, citing a statement from French regulators. The recall for all Reblochon cheese began in May after authorities linked the dairy product to seven cases of E. coli 026 bacteria. France's Ministry of Agriculture reiterated that raw milk and cheese made with raw milk should not be given to children, the report said.
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
* Ghana and the Ivory Coast are looking to cooperate on the production and marketing of cocoa as they look to gain influence over global prices, Bloomberg reported. The two West African nations, which produce about 60% of the world supply of cocoa, will reportedly coordinate their production levels to bring sales closer together and make sure to process the crop locally before exporting them.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* The pork industry in South Africa is struggling to recover from the listeria outbreak that killed 208 South Africans and was traced to a Tiger Brands Ltd. manufacturing plant, Bloomberg reported, citing industry groups. Pork prices have reportedly dropped to four-year lows and 2,000 jobs in the industry have been cut while small farms are at risk of closing down. The People First Piggery cleared its stock and decided against restocking after one of its owners, Petrus Lepota, claimed that he was losing money by selling at current prices.
* Police in Quanzhou City, China, raided workshops that produced over 55,000 counterfeit bottles of premier liquor brands and arrested 15 people, Reuters reported. The suspects would reportedly sell the bottles, filled with cheaper alcohol, across China for up to $62 per bottle, and their haul could have earned them $15.58 million, the report added.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng was up 1.66% to 30,997.98. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.37% to 22,475.90.
In Europe, as of midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.31% to 7,701.77, and the Euronext 100 climbed 1.02% to 1,059.77.
On the macro front
The factory orders report is due out today.
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