Food and drinks suppliers could get a worse deal on their packaging if Smith (DS) (SMDS) sells part of its business to Liqui-Box, the competition watchdog has found. US-based Liqui-Box is trying to buy the FTSE 100 firm’s rigid and flexible packaging business for an enterprise value of $585m (£468m) under a deal announced in March. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Friday it was concerned that the deal could lead to less choice for customers and higher prices, especially as there are very few large suppliers in the UK market. The regulator said a reduction in competition could lead to lower quality products or poorer service. An initial investigation by the watchdog found that Liqui-Box and DS Smith are two of the four main suppliers of bag-in-box packaging in the UK, used for products such as wine. The firms must propose plans acceptable to the CMA on how they can address its concerns or it will open an in-depth investigation.
Shares in advertising giant WPP (WPP) suffered as investors fretted it may suffer similar headwinds to those that caused its French rival Publicis to cut its sales outlook for the rest of the year. Online and social media advertising have shaken up the marketing industry in recent years, hitting agencies like WPP and Publicis hard. WPP, which sold its market research arm Kantar to Bain Capital for £2.5bn last week, shed 21p to 916.8p.
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) was lifted as analysts perceived an increased probability of the firm being compensated by Boeing for costs incurred due to the grounding of its 737 Max fleet. The improved outlook came after the American manufacturer took a $4.9bn charge in its accounts on Thursday to deal with the costs of the model being taken out of service following two crashes which claimed the lives of 346 people.
Sirius Minerals (SXX) announced plans for a $500m bond issuance to fund the construction and development of a mine in North Yorkshire. The site will yield polyhalite, a mineral used in the production of fertilisers. The bonds will sit alongside a much larger private credit facility to help fund the project.
