Kraft Heinz has made a $143bn (€134.5bn) offer for Unilever in what would be the largest-ever takeover in the food or beverage industry, opening a campaign to create a consumer-goods giant with household names from Dove soap to Heinz ketchup.

Shares in Laird dropped the most on record after the supplier to Apple pared its outlook, citing “brutal” price competition from Asian parts providers and sluggish demand from the mobile industry.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has posted a 1.5% rise in first-quarter global room revenue, missing analysts’ estimates, but said it was confident for the rest of the year, citing current trading trends and brand momentum.

German sport-shoe maker Adidas forecast sales may rise at the fastest pace in five years as consumers spend more ahead of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament, setting up its incoming chief for a potentially better period than the company’s recent past.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s chief executive says a study of SABMiller’s African beer markets and talks with top shareholders led to an “alignment of stars” that drew it to its nearest rival.

German analysts and investors see further growth potential for Europe’s biggest economy, though its already strong base means any further improvement may be limited, the ZEW think-tank’s April survey showed yesterday.

Differences over the risks to Britain’s economy surfaced this month among the Bank of England officials who have voted to keep interest rates on hold, complicating the outlook for monetary policy.

BSkyB’s plan to buy Rupert Murdoch’s pay-TV assets in Italy and Germany for up to €10bn is a bold bet on long-term growth at the expense of short-term profit, but the pioneering British media firm has pulled off such gambles before.

INTERNATIONAL stock markets rallied in afternoon trading on the back of bullish talk from G20 finance ministers, and despite further talk of a Greek default — from the country’s own finance minister.