Wm. Morrison Supermarkets, Ltd.

LONDON - Britain threw cold water on a bidding war for the country's fourth-biggest supermarket chain Safeway Plc on Wednesday, ordering all but one of the five bidders to undergo a competition inquiry, Reuters reports.

LONDON - Wal-Mart is reportedly attempting to build a significant stake in its Safeway bid, as the retailer is said to recently have approached some of Safeway's top shareholders, according to a report in the Financial Times.

LONDON - British supermarket giant Sainsbury PLC said Monday it was considering making an offer of more than 3 billion pounds ($4.8 billion) for Safeway PLC, raising the prospect of a bidding war for Britain's fourth largest grocery chain.

LONDON - Morrisons, a medium-sized but fast-growing British supermarket chain, has announced plans to take over UK rival Safeway, in a deal worth GBP 2.9 billion ($4.67 billion), BBC News reports. Industry analysts expect a counter-bid as early as next week.

PURCHASE, N.Y. - PepsiCo Inc. said it will unite all of its North American beverage operations, including Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade, in a new division led by one of its most senior beverage executives.