Apollo Global Management, the New York-based buyout giant, is lining up banks to fund a £6bn tilt to buy Boots. Sky News reports that Bank of America, Credit Suisse and Royal Bank of Canada are among those in talks to help finance a takeover bid.
Holland & Barrett is struggling to make a scheduled interest payment to its lenders even though the UK healthcare retailer and its Russian oligarch-backed private equity owner are not under direct sanctions (The Financial Times £).
Ocado is redesigning a new logo for its fast-track Zoom service less than a week after it was launched, after drawing comparisons to the Russian battle symbol used on tanks and other military vehicles in Ukraine (The Guardian).
Fuel prices, already at record levels, could be pushed higher in 121 locations across the UK as a result of the £7bn takeover of Morrisons by a US private equity firm, the consumer watchdog has said (The Guardian).
Prospective new owner Clayton, Dubilier & Rice owns Motor Fuel Group, which operates 921 forecourts across England, Scotland and Wales, while Morrisons runs 339 petrol stations at its supermarkets (The Mail).
The watchdog has given CD&R five days to provide proposals to address its concerns, which if met will prevent the deal being subjected to a further in-depth investigation (The Times £).
The boss of McColl’s Retail Group has stepped down while the convenience store chain looks to raise funds for its survival (The Times £).
The convenience store group, which employs around 16,000 staff, said Jonathan Miller has quit after 30 years with the firm, including six years at the helm (The Mail).
Free-range chickens and eggs may no longer be feasible to produce in the UK and elsewhere in Europe in future due to a dramatic escalation in avian flu outbreaks, say leading disease experts (The Guardian).
The boss of Arla has said that supermarket milk prices need to rise by about a third to cover spiralling costs as the dairy co-operative said it would start exporting British milk overseas where farmers can get better returns (The Times £).
The UK’s largest dairy has warned milk supplies could be under threat unless its farmers are paid more (BBC News).
The Guardian takes a look at the key everyday items hit by soaring UK prices.
The cost of living crisis risks sparking a wave of rioting in Britain because its economy is one of the most fragile in Europe, a French investment bank has warned (The Telegraph).
Rocketing global food prices as a result of the war in Ukraine could trigger riots from those going hungry in poor countries, the head of the World Trade Organization has said (The Guardian).
The boss of Next has said that the current squeeze on incomes is worse than the damage wrought during the financial crisis, as the retailer warned the war in Ukraine will fuel an 8pc rise in prices this autumn (The Telegraph).
The war in Ukraine has knocked consumer confidence to a 16-month low, a survey has found (The Times £).
The economy has so far suffered a smaller setback than expected from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but businesses face the steepest price rises since at least 1999, according to a key survey (The Times £).
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