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The closing of Campbell Soup Co.’s acquisition of US sauces maker Sovos Brands has been delayed until next year due to a review by competition officials. Campbell announced the $2.7bn deal for the owner of the Rao’s brand of sauces, pasta, soups and frozen meals in August, noting it expected to close the transaction by the end of the year. However, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has requested “additional information” as part of the competition regulator’s review of the acquisition, its second such request, Campbell said.

Ferrara Candy Company has snapped up fellow US confectioner Jelly Belly Candy Company. The transaction sees the Trolli and Black Forest maker add the Jelly Belly brand of jelly beans to its portfolio. The acquisition was made through Ferrara’s lead holding company CTH Invest. Ferrara is a sister company of Italian confectionery giant Ferrero. Family-owned Ferrero describes Ferrara as a “Ferrero-related company”. Both have the same shareholder but Ferrara is not consolidated into the Ferrero group.

Spain-based food manufacturer Adam Foods has acquired biscuit manufacturer Dr. Gerard from the Bridgepoint investment fund. Dr Gerard, owned by Bridgepoint since 2013, generates a turnover of €130m ($142.3m) and employs 1,100 staff. The company has two factories in Poland and runs subsidiaries in Hungary and Romania. By contrast, Adam Foods has ten plants: eight in Spain and two in Portugal. It has 1,400 employees and generates a turnover of €350m.

Premier Foods has expanded its breakfast range with the acquisition of UK brand Fuel10K for an enterprise value of £34m ($42.9m). Fuel10K was developed by UK distributor Fresh Marketing, with a range of cereal, snack bars and milk drinks supplied under the brand to major UK retailers. The deal for Fuel10K is the second acquisition made by Premier in just over a year. Publicly-listed Premier returned to the M&A market in July last year with meal-kit business The Spice Tailor.