Business news in brief

Albertsons, Sprouts grocers talk merger

BOISE, Idaho -- Albertsons Cos., the grocery-chain operator backed by Cerberus Capital Management, has held preliminary talks to merge with Sprouts Farmers Market Inc., people with knowledge of the matter said.

The discussions, which took place in recent weeks, are at an early stage and may not lead to a deal, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private details. The talks have involved a plan to take organic grocer Sprouts private and add it to Albertsons' portfolio, which includes eponymous grocery stores and the Safeway store brand.

Sprouts shares fell 19 cents to close Monday at $21.83, valuing the company at about $3 billion. They earlier rose to $23.07. The Phoenix-based company's stock climbed 23 percent last week.

Representatives for Cerberus and Sprouts didn't respond to requests for comment. A representative for Albertsons declined to comment.

Grocery stores have been battered by food price deflation over the past year, forcing them to compete more aggressively. The battle has weighed on Kroger Co., the largest U.S. grocery chain. The company posted lower same-store sales, excluding fuel, for the first time in more than a decade in the fourth quarter.

-- Bloomberg News

Brazil's meatpackers vouch for products

SAO PAULO -- Two Brazilian food giants are spending big in a rush to reassure consumers their meat is safe to eat after finding themselves at the center of Brazil's latest corruption investigation.

Federal authorities announced Friday they're investigating evidence that producers bribed government officials to approve the sale and export of soiled meat. That sent two companies -- JBS, named for founder Jose Batista Sobrinho, and Brazil Foods, better known as BRF -- into damage-control mode. The strategy includes spots on prime-time television and full-page ads in newspapers to say they have never sold rotten meat and that their products are perfectly safe to eat, denying allegations from the investigating judge that cardboard and acid have been added to some Brazilian meat.

Shares of Brazilian meatpackers plunged Monday. Shares of JBS fell as much as 10 percent in Sao Paulo, BRF 12 percent, Minerva 13 percent and Marfrig Global Foods 5.9 percent.

The scandal is threatening to undermine years of extensive publicity focused on the quality and safety of their products, which starred celebrities including British chef Jamie Oliver and two-time Oscar-winner Robert de Niro.

-- Bloomberg News

Comcast executive will take CEO post

NEW YORK -- Comcast's cable unit is shuffling its leadership ranks, with longtime executive Dave Watson taking over for Neil Smit as chief executive officer.

Smit will become vice chairman of Comcast Corp. at the start of next month. Comcast said Monday that Smit will work with Watson on the transition for a few months, and then will work part time for the company.

Watson, who has worked at Comcast for more than 25 years, has been chief operating officer of Comcast's cable unit since 2010.

Besides providing cable service, the Philadelphia cable giant also owns the NBCUniversal media conglomerate.

-- The Associated Press

India e-commerce company raises $1B

BENGALURU, India -- Flipkart Online Services has completed $1 billion in fundraising and aims to raise as much as $1 billion more over the next few months, according to people familiar with the matter, giving India's largest e-commerce company capital to battle back against rising competition.

Flipkart secured its latest funding on Friday at a valuation of about $10 billion, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Backers in this round so far included Microsoft, eBay and Tencent Holdings, but the valuation was a decline from Flipkart's $15.5 billion in 2015. The company said it doesn't comment on "market speculations" as a matter of policy.

The 10-year-old firm is competing with Amazon.com Inc. and other rivals looking for a piece of the fast-growing India market. Earlier this year, New York's Tiger Global Management installed its own Kalyan Krishnamurthy as chief executive officer to replace one of the company's founders.

The latest fundraising shows investors believe Flipkart has a good chance of beating back the competition, despite a current dismal environment for capital-raising and the startup's own internal ructions.

-- Bloomberg News

Business on 03/21/2017

Upcoming Events