Los Angeles-based Carnation Co. will operate Buitoni...

Los Angeles-based Carnation Co. will operate Buitoni Foods Corp. as a separate company in the United States after the purchase of the Italian-based company Buitoni S.p.A. by Nestle S.A. . . . Delchamps Inc., Mobile, Ala., said its board has unanimously rejected as inadequate a $224-million merger proposal from Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.