TOP NEWS
* Hedge fund Eminence Capital LP intends to vote against Just Eat PLC's planned merger with Takeaway.com NV. The hedge fund owns about 4.4% of food delivery app Just Eat, making it one of the company's top 10 shareholders. Eminence CEO Ricky Sandler said Takeaway's offer was "highly opportunistic," adding that it undervalues Just Eat.
* Campbell Soup Co. said it agreed to sell its European chips subsidiary to Valeo Foods, a portfolio company of private equity firm CapVest Partners LLP, for £66 million. The food company said the subsidiary includes its U.K.-based Kettle Foods Ltd. unit and its Netherlands-based Yellow Chips BV business. Campbell will retain ownership of the Kettle brand across all geographies except for Europe and the Middle East.
FOOD RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION
* Wal-Mart de México SAB de CV has started offering same-day delivery for certain household and technology items ordered online, Reuters reported. The service applies to around 12,000 products within certain dimensions, such as laptops, mobile phones, televisions and clothing irons, the report said.
* German food retailer Metro AG said it sold 11 Cash & Carry stores in Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic for over €250 million in a sale-and-leaseback transaction. The company said the sale was completed in August.
* Russian food retailer X5 Retail Group NV rolled out a pilot project to test electronic shelf labeling, which avoids incorrect display tags, in its Pyaterochka stores. The initiative has been rolled out in the Russian town of Dolgoprudny, where seven Pyaterochka stores were equipped with 58,000 electronic shelf labels.
* Russian food retailer PJSC Magnit said it appointed Andrey Bodrov as its chief investment officer of the company, effective immediately. Most recently, Bodrov was the M&A director of supermarket chain Lenta Ltd.
BEVERAGES
* French spirits maker Pernod Ricard SA said it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Fort Worth, Texas-based distillery Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co. LLC for an undisclosed sum.
* The Delhi High Court rejected brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev SA's request to lift a three-year sales ban imposed by India capital New Delhi due to the company's alleged tax evasion, Reuters reported. Justice Navin Chawla reportedly declined to give any immediate relief, adding that the appeals process before the state authorities must be completed first. "It is our understanding that appropriate excise duty payments were made," AB InBev reportedly said. In August, the city's Commissioner of Excise also rejected a request from the maker of Budweiser to hold off implementing the ban.
TOBACCO & SMOKING PRODUCTS
* Juul Labs Inc. has raised approximately $785.2 million in an equity and debt offering, according to an SEC filing. The offering has been expanded from August, in which the U.S. e-cigarette maker raised $325 million.
* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working with local health officials to investigate incidents of severe respiratory disease associated with the use of e-cigarette products. As of Aug. 27, there were 215 incidents from 25 states of potential cases of respiratory illnesses reported after the use of e-cigarettes, the agencies said. While some cases in each of the states are similar and appear to be linked to e-cigarette product use, more information is needed to determine the cause of the respiratory illnesses, FDA acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless said.
* Attorneys general from Illinois and the District of Columbia launched their own investigations of Juul Labs over concerns related to underage use of its products as well as its marketing practices that allegedly target youth, The Associated Press reported, citing state officials. Colorado, Connecticut and Massachusetts have also launched their investigations against the company, the newswire added. Juul did not immediately respond to S&P Global Market Intelligence's request for comment.
PACKAGED FOODS
* Tyson Foods Inc. said it agreed to acquire 40% of the foods division of Brazilian poultry company Vibra Agroindustrial SA for an undisclosed sum, giving the U.S. packaged meat producer access to poultry supplies in Brazil.
* Emmi AG's Chilean unit, Lacteos Surlat SA, said it will merge with its rival Cia Agricola y Lechera Quillayes de Pete, or Quillayes, to form a new dairy company in the Chilean market. Financial terms of the deal, subject to approval by Chilean competition authorities, were not disclosed.
* Hong Kong-based dairy company China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. has agreed to terminate the sale of shares in its Chinese subsidiary Yashili International Holdings Ltd. In December 2018, Mengniu and Yashili agreed to dispose of 49% of their Hong Kong business to a wholly owned subsidiary of France's Danone SA. In the latest announcement, Mengniu and Yashili said the parties involved mutually decided to terminate the share purchase agreement, without disclosing further details.
* Mondelez International Inc.'s SnackFutures innovation hub, which develops brands and partners with startups, is expanding to Australia and New Zealand, Inside FMCG reported. The move comes after the launch of the SnackFutures initiative in Europe and the U.S. in 2018.
* Irish convenience foods producer Greencore Group PLC said it has completed the acquisition of Freshtime UK Ltd., to-go salads and chilled snacks foods supplier, for an enterprise value of £56 million.
* U.K. biscuits maker Burton's Foods Ltd. said it acquired Scottish shortbread supplier Paterson Arran Ltd., which employs about 200 staff and runs two production facilities, for an undisclosed sum.
* The Unilever Group said its nonexecutive director Mary Ma died on Aug. 31.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.39% to 25,527.85, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.02% to 20,625.16.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.30% to 7,259.44, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.47% to 1,061.71.
On the macro front
The Purchasing Managers' manufacturing index, the Institute For Supply Management's manufacturing index and the construction spending report are due out today.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
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