Kraft Withdraws Offer to Merge with Unilever

U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co has agreed to withdraw its proposal for a $143-billion merger with larger rival Unilever Plc , the companies said on Sunday. Kraft had made a surprise offer for Unilever in a bid to build a global consumer goods behemoth, although it was flatly rejected on Friday by Unilever, the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap.

European Benchmarks Fall, But London Bucks Trend on Takeover Activity

European benchmarks fell on Friday as the so-called Trump-trade appeared to fade, but London bucked the trend among its continental cousins after drawing a boost from takeover activity and the recovery of formerly ex-dividend stocks. The FTSE 100 closed 0.30% higher at 7,299 while the DAX in Germany was flat at 11,757 and the CAC 40 in France fell by 0.65% to 4,867.

Kraft in talks to buy Europe’s Unilever

At left, in a March 25, 2015, file photo, a Heinz ketchup sign is shown on the side of the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. At right, also in a March 25, 2015, file photo, the Kraft logo appears outside of their headquarters in Northfield, Ill.