Morrisons looks set to be the ‘kingmaker’ in the £14bn merger of J Sainsbury and Asda as they are forced to offload stores to get the deal done, writes The Mail. Morrisons, the fourth-largest supermarket in the UK, is eyeing shops that Sainsbury’s and Asda could be forced to sell as part of a probe into the tie-up. And they could come at a knockdown price. (The Daily Mail)

The E-cigarette industry is being targeted in a crackdown by US officials who warned that teenage vaping had reached “epidemic” proportions. Manufacturers were on Wednesday threatened with a ban from Washington on flavoured versions of the product that are blamed for getting young people addicted. (The Financial Times £)

Fonterra has announced a major shake-up of its business, including a strategic review of its troubled Chinese joint venture, as the world’s biggest dairy exporter posted its first annual loss (The Financial Times £). New Zealand’s Fonterra, the world’s largest dairy exporter, has posted its first annual loss as higher costs and heavy one-off charges hit earnings (The BBC).

As the UK prepares to leave the EU, pub chain JD Wetherspoon — whose chairman has extolled the benefits of Brexit — said on Wednesday it will ditch several EU-made tipples — including German herbal liquor Jägermeister and French brandies Courvoisier VS and Hennessy Fine de Cognac — starting September 26. (The Financial Times £)

Unilever has just over a month to convince investors to back a controversial plan to scrap its UK legal headquarters. (The Daily Mail)

US candy giant Hershey is scooping up Pirate Brands, the maker of cheese puff snack Pirate’s Booty, in an effort to boost its line-up of healthier products. (The Financial Times £)

Coca-Cola has agreed its biggest sponsorship deal in Britain by becoming the Premier League’s seventh and last commercial partner. The company will become the official soft drink partner of the league, joining Barclays, Carling, Cadbury, Nike, Tag Heuer and EA Sports as sponsors. (The Times £)

Deliveroo has pushed ahead with its expansion into Asia, unveiling plans to launch in Taiwan over the coming weeks. The British food delivery company will start services in the country’s capital, Taipei, and then expects to roll out its app in other cities. (The Telegraph)

The FT’s Lex column looks at Nestle’s investment in Blue Bottle Coffee, writing: “Third-wave specialty coffee” — the sort caffeine snobs queue round the block for — is trouncing sales of regular coffee in the US. Nestlé, majority owner of San Francisco’s favourite hipster chain Blue Bottle Coffee, is hoping Europe will go the same way.” (The Financial Times £)

McDonald’s fast-food restaurant workers have voted to stage a one-day strike at outlets in 10 US cities next week, in hopes of pressuring the company to take stronger steps against sexual harassment on the job. (The Guardian)

Crunch time for Amazon and Flipkart in India, writes The FT. A clamp down on aggressive discounting and bulk-buying will test the groups’ strategies in the country as they are accused by local lobby groups of hurting small businesses and squeezing out competitors. (The Financial Times £)

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