Tesco could be forced to dispose of more than 600 stores unless it can convince regulators that its £3.9bn merger with Booker will not harm competition.

Analysis by the data team at The Times has found there are 635 Tesco stores situated less than 500 metres from a shop in Booker’s network of Premier, Londis and Budgens stores, raising fears about the impact on consumers, suppliers and rivals. (The Times £)

Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of household goods including Cillit Bang and Dettol, is in advanced talks to acquire Mead Johnson in a deal that could value the maker of infant formula at about $16.7bn. The FT writes that a deal with Mead Johnson would help Reckitt boost its US and Asia business at a time when some of its emerging market units have been under pressure (The Financial Times £). Rakesh Kapoor, Reckitt Benckiser’s chief executive, has made no secret of his hunger for further acquisitions after losing out on buying Merck’s consumer business in 2014 to rival Bayer (The Telegraph).

A ‘wall of inflation’ is heading towards the UK as a record rise in costs for British factories points to an ‘inevitable’ spike in the cost of living for British consumers, new data shows. (The Daily Mail)

Emerald Investment Partners withdrew from the bidding for Punch Taverns yesterday, leaving the field clear for Heineken and Patron Capital Advisers to complete their recommended £1.8 billion deal (The Times £). Dutch beer giant Heineken is on course to win the bid for Punch Taverns after a rival suitor dropped out of the race yesterday (The Daily Mail).

One of the City’s biggest investors has put top company bosses on notice that excessive pay rises will be not be tolerated. Standard Life Investments – which is also putting Sports Direct under renewed investor pressure over its failure to address executive pay and governance – has signalled it is prepared to vote against pay rises for chief executives unless there is a convincing reason for them. (The Guardian)

Sir Philip Green, the retail tycoon who has been excoriated by MPs for his role in the collapse of high street chain BHS, will hold on to his knighthood while officials are still probing the affair, the chairman of a disciplinary committee has said. (The Financial Times £)

M&S and Unilever promise plastic redesign to cut waste, writes The Guardian. Predictions that our oceans could contain more plastic than fish by 2050 have forced brands to rethink packaging.

Finally, all the papers all pay tribute to Sir Ken Morrison this morning. “Raise a glass to the man who always told it like it was” writes The Times (£), adding his death “robs the corporate world of a man unconstrained by the blandness that afflicts most top bosses”. “Morrison called a spade a spade and knew his own mind” writes The Telegraph, adding that Sir Ken’s successors must ensure his legacy lives on.

Known for a management style that was pugnacious yet down-to-earth, the supermarket tycoon was not above rolling up his sleeves and rearranging a cabbage display while conveying journalists around his stores, writs The Financial Times £. He was frequently seen around the stores, arriving unannounced and opening packs of food to check their freshness (The Guardian). The Guardian and The BBC detail some of Sir Ken’s best quotes, including: “”If in doubt, have a cup of tea” and “Southern shoppers like to think they are sophisticated, don’t they? But they’re not.”

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