Pepsi to buy SodaStream for $3.2bn in shift to health-conscious drinks, writes The Guardian. The Israel-based company now focuses on turning water into sparkling water to tap into a trend towards younger and more health- and environmentally-conscious consumers (The Guardian). The Sodastream faded from memory as pre-made soft drinks became cheaper, but it is popular again simply for making sparkling water at home (The Times £). Earlier this month, SodaStream posted its strongest results in company history (Sky News)

Pepsi’s move on Monday is the latest sign that makers of sugary drinks are pivoting towards juices, waters, teas, coffee and anything nominally healthier than cola, writes the FT’s Lex column. “The US adoption rate of SodaStream is only around 1%. PepsiCo hopes its distribution heft will help make carbonation equipment a standard household appliance in the US and around the world.” (The Financial Times £)

Suppliers are braced to feel the squeeze as the merged Sainsbury’s and Asda supersized store chain will throw its weight around to fulfil pledge to lower shopping bills, writes The Times. “Much of the promised lower prices are coming initially via £350 million of synergies from a proposed “price harmonisation” of the grocers’ top 100 suppliers. This is where the enlarged grocer will demand the lower of two prices paid separately by Sainsbury’s and Asda for the same products.” (The Times £)

An MP who described the Sainsbury’s and Asda merger as a “financial fix” said that he remained unconvinced of the merits of the deal. Neil Parish, chairman of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee, commented: “I am concerned that the ethos of Sainsbury’s is not a natural fit with Asda’s ethos,” he said. “As a result, I am personally not convinced of the reasons given by Sainsbury’s and Asda for the merger.” (The Times £)

Tyson Foods unveiled on Monday a deal to buy a major supplier to the food services industry as it bolsters its international business and portfolio of value-added meat products, like chicken nuggets. Arkansas-based Tyson said it will pay $2.16bn in cash to buy Keystone Foods from Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods. (The Financial Times £)

More than 600 jobs are under threat at House of Fraser warehouses operated by XPO Logistics, the GMB union has said. (Sky News)

China’s ecommerce giants are fighting it out over everything from customer data to exclusive contracts with retailers. Now that rivalry is spilling offline into logistics networks and warehousing, with key operators spending millions of dollars to secure prime warehouse locations to shave precious hours off delivery times. (The Financial Times £)

Britain can be a “21st Century exporting superpower”, Liam Fox is expected to say in a speech detailing the government’s post-Brexit ambitions. The international trade secretary will say he wants exports as a proportion of UK GDP to rise from 30% to 35%. (The BBC)

Topics