Just Eat has accepted that its multibillion-pound merger with Takeaway.com is dead in its present form, putting pressure on the Dutch suitor to sweeten the terms of its proposal. (The Times £)

The South African interloper hoping to gatecrash the merger of Just Eat and a Dutch rival has said its bid for the delivery company is a “full and fair price”, despite demands from investors for a higher offer (The Times £).

Prosus has more than enough money to wipe the floor with its rival suitor. The 710p per share offer it has revealed to shareholders is certainly not generous enough, but there is plenty of time and flexibility for negotiation (The Telegraph). Whoever wins the food fight, investors in Just Eat will be lining their pockets, not their stomachs (The Daily Mail).

“£5bn Just Eat bidding war reflects a ballooning sector adding little value to consumers, workers or UK,” writes The Guardian.

The world’s biggest brewer has sparked further concerns about the global economy after weak beer sales in China and America took the fizz out of its third-quarter trading (The Times £). The world’s biggest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev has lowered annual profit forecasts after a weak third quarter dragged down by higher commodity costs, marketing costs in China, and price rises in South Korea and Brazil (The Financial Times £).

AB InBev’s multibillion merger with SABMiller created “the first truly global beer company”, selling more than one in four beers worldwide, writes The Times (£). “So let’s hope investors have downed their fair share of them — to anaesthetise the pain of what’s happened since.” (The Times £)

Asda has declined a last-ditch request from unions to remove the threat of dismissal from thousands of staff who will be sacked if they fail to sign compulsory contracts by the end of next week (Sky News).

Mothercare has drafted in restructuring experts to assess options for its troubled UK business, raising concern for the future of 2,500 employees in 79 stores. (The Times £)

Marks & Spencer is preparing to announce a profits slump after a slide at its clothing business, according to analysts. (The Daily Mail)

Supplies of festive food staples including pigs in blankets, glazed hams and three-bird roasts could be hit by Brexit-related labour shortages in the meat industry. (The Guardian)

“Land will be abandoned” as UK’s farmers feel squeeze from the looming threat of Brexit. “British farmers feel they are being squeezed on all sides: by environmental protesters picketing meat markets; Conservative policies outlined in this month’s Queen’s Speech parliamentary legislation prioritising environment and animal welfare; and post-Brexit trade arrangements that they say threaten their livelihoods.” (The Financial Times £)

The collapse of Tomlinsons again puts a spotlight on the relationship between supermarkets and suppliers, which has always been fraught. “Tomlinsons supplied a fifth of Sainsbury’s own-label milk under a contract won in 2016, together with Arla, Medina Dairy and Müller. The grocer is now facing growing calls to pay farmers, some owed for up to six weeks’ work.” (The Telegraph)

A low-key investment fund run by one of Britain’s richest men has doubled its stake in Morrisons, becoming the second largest shareholder in the supermarket titan. (The Telegraph)

Concerns about the health of the economy have knocked consumer confidence to its lowest level in six years, a poll has suggested. (The Times £)

Amazon is recruiting a small army of delivery drivers in a direct challenge to Royal Mail. (The Daily Mail)

Soaring wholesale meat prices in China sparked by the African swine fever epidemic are threatening a crisis in the nation’s food retail sector, which has struggled to pass on the bulk of the increases to consumers. (The Financial Times £)

Coffee needs a mechanism to stabilise prices, writes The FT. “What we are seeing today in coffee is a complex interplay of factors that threatens the sustainability of the industry, the farmers whose livelihoods depend on it and the diversity of coffees we enjoy.” (The Financial Times £)

The Sunday Times interviews Burger King boss José Cil – with health campaigners outraged by the fast-food chain, the boss of its American parent is sticking by his Whoppers. (The Times £)

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