In an eventful week, the plan to merge Brazil’s largest retailer with Carrefour’s local operations was called off, new CEOs were appointed at Premier Foods plc and Fonterra and Greencore made an offer to buy UK private-label firm Uniq. Click on the links for more coverage of the stories.

“Casino, GPA’s largest shareholder, mindful of the company’s and all its stakeholders’ interests, has been heard” – the French retailer reacts to the news that the controversial plan to merge Brazil’s largest retailer CBD, also known as Grupo Pao de Acucar (GPA), has been halted.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Premier ended up being somewhat smaller under the new chief executive but with a lot less debt” – Mirabaud Securities analyst Julian Lakin believes new Premier Foods plc CEO Mike Clarke could look to offload parts of the UK’s largest food manufacturer.

“The building blocks are in place for the Uniq businesses to realise their full potential with a committed, long-term owner, such as Greencore” – Uniq chief executive Geoff Eaton argues the UK firm’s success in finding a solution to its pension deficit – while maintaining a “high quality service” will benefit its potential new owner.

“These uniform nutrition criteria represent another huge step forward” – Elaine Kolish, vice president and director of US food industry group The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, believes manufacturers have made progress in what they advertise to children.

“My challenge is to build an even more successful global dairy co-operative” – Fonterra’s new CEO, Theo Spierings, on trying to build on the “strong foundation” established by his predecessor Andrew Ferrier at the New Zealand dairy giant.

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“We had no choice but to try to recover these cost increases” – a spokesperson for Kerry Group insists commodity costs meant the Irish company had to raise prices after its acquisition of fellow frozen ready-meals maker Headland Foods, a deal that will be the subject of a competition inquiry in the UK.

“Their offer is a recognition of the strength and quality of our company” – Hsu Fu Chi CEO and chairman Hsu Chen explains why he thinks Nestle wants to buy 60% of the Chinese confectioner.

“When you look at Campbell a few years from now, you will see a company with a broader and stronger flywheel for growth” – Denise Morrison, set to become Campbell Soup Co. president and CEO next month, is looking to the future with optimism after outlining her strategy for the US food company.

“As independent companies, both Ralcorp and Post Foods will be better positioned to focus on strategies specific to their particular businesses, thereby improving the opportunities to deliver increasing shareholder value” – Ralcorp Holdings chairman William Stiritz explains the US food maker’s decision to spin off branded cereals business Post.

“Thorntons is a strong brand with excellent potential and I am confident that this strategy of rebalancing the business across all channels will deliver results” – Jonathan Hart, Thorntons’ chief executive, outlines his optimism about the UK chocolate manufacturer and retailer’s prospects after the company posted a drop in quarterly sales.