AUSTRALIA: SABMiller has agreed a recommended AUS$9.9bn (£7.3bn) cash offer for Foster's Group. The deal ended a three-month pursuit by SABMiller that included two rejected offers one of which was hostile. "Foster's will become an important part of our business and we expect to further enhance Foster's performance and create value for our shareholders," said SABMiller CEO Graham Mackay. 

THAILAND: Tesco is bidding to unlock hundreds of millions of pounds from its Asian property empire. Its Thai subsidiary Tesco Lotus is looking to raise more than £300m via an initial public offering for a new property fund secured against 15 of its hypermarkets. "By releasing value from our Thai property, we will be able to invest in further innovation and growth," said Tesco's chief financial officer Laurie McIlwee.

US: PepsiCo has created the Power of One Americas Council to explore opportunities between its food and beverages businesses. The council will be led by John Compton, CEO of PepsiCo Americas Foods, and will include seven other top PepsiCo executives from North and South America. The soft drinks giant has also formed a Global Snacks Group, also to be led by Compton, which will focus on developing a co-ordinated approach to the company's global brand portfolio.

Walmart is to install solar panels at 60 further stores in California. The move will mean that more than 75% of the retailer's stores in the state will have solar panels, generating up to 70 million kwh of renewable energy per year. "California presents a great opportunity for Walmart to make significant progress toward our sustainability goals by installing solar power on more than 130 store rooftops throughout the state," said Kim Saylors-Laster, Walmart vice president of energy.

JAPAN: Seven & I has acquired a 30% stake in Kinsho Store Co. Kinsho is the supermarket unit of Kintetsu Corporation and has supermarkets adjacent to the Kintetsu railway. Seven & I said Kinsho had "solid operational foundations".

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