A merger between J Sainsbury and Wm Morrison could be triggered by the proposed £3.9bn tie-up between Tesco and Booker, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has suggested. Sainsbury’s is the best candidate for consolidation and its geographic skew to the southeast fits in with Morrisons and Asda, the broker said. (The Times £)

Meanwhile, the Tesco/Booker ‘merger’ looks more like an “expensive succession plan”, according to The FT’s Lombard column, which tips Charles Wilson for the top job at the supermarkets group in the future. (The Financial Times £)

Fans of Nando’s peri-peri chicken have had their appetites tested after rumours swirled that the South-African restaurant chain was exploring a London stock market listing. It had been reported that Nando’s was talking to advisers and in the early stages of considering selling shares in the company. (The Telegraph)

Weetabix has warned that it may become the latest consumer brand to raise prices this year as a result of the pound’s slump since the Brexit vote. The breakfast cereal manufacturer said if prices were to go up, the increases would probably be in the “low single digits”. (The Guardian)

Large companies and their directors will face criminal proceedings and fines if they do not disclose twice a year their treatment of suppliers, as part of a crackdown to stamp out bad payment practices blamed for tens of thousands of business failures every year. (The Telegraph)

Three acquisitions in the space of 12 months boosted sales and profits at booze distributor Conviviality by more than two-fold in the first six months of the year (The Telegraph). Wine Rack owner Conviviality hails acquisitions for its 211% increase in sales over just six months (The Daily Mail)

Shares in Rite Aid tumbled on Monday on increasing doubts about whether regulators will approve Walgreens Boots Alliance’s proposed takeover of its smaller rival. Rite Aid shares sank nearly 18 per cent to below its pre-merger agreement price after the two drugstore chains said they had agreed on a new deal that would slice at least $2.1bn off the original value. (The Financial Times £)

At the time the deal was agreed in 2015 the companies expected to have to sell between 500 and 1,000 Rite Aid stores to appease regulators. In October, the companies delayed the merger by three months to gain more time to offload stores. (The Times £)

The FT’s Lex column writes: “Companies usually give themselves wriggle room when providing an earnings forecast by stating a range. They rarely do so for the price of an agreed buyout… This revisionism reflects a long antitrust review, as the US regulator decides how many locations must be shed.” (The Financial Times £)

Brexiters toasting an impending exit from the EU with a pint of ale could be in for a sobering shock, after some of Britain’s top brewers warned that the weak pound is putting the craft beer revolution at risk. (The Guardian)

Consumers have started 2017 with renewed confidence in their personal financial situation but remain concerned about the wider economy, despite record high employment and the UK economy growing faster than any other G7 nation in 2016 (The Times £). Consumer confidence in the UK saw a slight uptick in this month, according to an index compiled on behalf of the European Commission (Sky News).

Artificial sweetener maker PureCircle can resume its shipments of plant extract stevia to the US after authorities cleared it of using ‘slave labour’. (The Telegraph)

The future of gin is safe, according to horticultural experts who have collected juniper seeds from across the country to help conserve the declining tree species. (The Guardian)

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