Shareholder shells out to save Peapod

NEWS Dutch supermarket group Royal Ahold, who owns three US grocery chains in the north east, is extending Peapod's credit line from $20m to $50m. Twelve-year old Peapod has never reported a profit and last week warned that it would run out of cash by the end of the year. Last year it lost $56.8m on sales of $92.8m. The online company was rescued from bankruptcy last year when Royal Ahold paid $73.5m for a majority stake. Peapod has a $60m cash reserve and says margins have improved significantly since it began stocking from Ahold's supermarket chains. Peapod is the second-largest online grocer in the US, after struggling Webvan.