Second round bids for Unilever’s €2bn tea business are due in today, but any buyer - with bidders including PE firms Advent, Carlyle and CVC - would have to decide how to handle sensitive questions of human rights and fair pay on three large plantations owned by the multinational (The Financial Times £).
Oatly has warned that a combination of slower production in the US, inflationary pressures and renewed Covid-19 restrictions in Asia will hit full-year revenues, sending shares in the group tumbling (The Financial Times £).
Shares in Oatly tumbled by more than a fifth after the Swedish oat milk producer missed expectations on Wall Street and cut its annual sales projection because of production and distribution problems (The Times £).
Oatly said UK sales were $1m lower than hoped in its third quarter to the end of September because of driver shortages which delayed deliveries, while mechanical and technical issues at its US production plant in Utah had a $3m impact on sales, on top of $3m from Covid-related closures of hospitality businesses in Asia (The Guardian).
Heineken is set to turn up the pressure on Anheuser-Busch InBev in South Africa after announcing plans to acquire control of Distell Group and Namibia Breweries (The Times £).
Tesco’s festive TV ad featuring Santa Claus bearing a Covid vaccine passport has prompted more than 1,500 complaints, making it the most complained-about advert of the year (The Guardian).
Lyre’s, a non-alcoholic spirits business founded less than three years ago, claims it is on target to become the fastest independent drinks brand to reach unicorn status (The Times £).
The use of brand new “virgin” plastics by some of the world’s largest brands has peaked and is on track to fall significantly by 2025 as the use of recycled packaging grows (The Financial Times £).
The Guardian asks: “From turkey to festive fizz: how will shortages affect UK Christmas dinner?”.
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