Supermarket group Ahold and its Belgian counterpart Delhaize are in talks on a possible alliance, the Financieele Dagblad reports today on its front page.

The two companies have been in talks ‘for some time’ and are looking at ‘a far-reaching alliance which should lead to a takeover’ one source told the paper. With turnover of over €44 bn last year, Ahold is considerably bigger than Delhaize which booked sales of almost €19 bn last year, the paper points out. However, it adds, both companies have considerable and complementary activities in the US. Two hedge funds are currently putting pressure on Ahold to ditch its US arm.
Meanwhile, shareholders’ lobby group VEB says that $784 is the average claim made by Ahold investors who lost out when the retailer’s share price was hit by a book-keeping scandal in 2003. Around 179,000 investors have put in a compensation claim.
Textile group Ten Cate is launching a ‘fourth generation’ of artificial grass which it says is cheaper, more shock absorbent and requires less in-fill than traditional synthetic turf. The recycled rubber in-fill used on some types of artificial grass has been at the centre of a recent health scare.