{"id":120067,"date":"2025-11-07T06:57:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T06:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/120067\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T06:57:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T06:57:25","slug":"kimberly-clark-buys-tylenol-maker-kenvue-in-more-than-40bn-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/120067\/","title":{"rendered":"Kimberly-Clark buys Tylenol-maker Kenvue in more than $40bn deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter<\/p>\n

\"AFPAFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Trump administration linked use of Tylenol during pregnancy to autism, despite what scientists say is inconclusive evidence<\/p>\n

Kimberly-Clark is set to buy Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, which has faced attacks from the White House and flagging demand for its products. <\/p>\n

The more-than $40bn (\u00a330.5bn) cash-and-stock deal would create a consumer giant, with a portfolio of some of the world’s most commonly stocked bathroom and medicine cabinet items.<\/p>\n

Kimberly-Clark makes Kleenex, Huggies nappies and some of the biggest toilet paper brands in the US. As well as Tylenol, Kenvue is known for Band-Aid, Zyrtec, Benadryl, Neutrogena and Aveeno. <\/p>\n

Both firms have been under pressure as price-conscious households increasingly turn to cheaper, store-brand versions of their products.<\/p>\n

Johnson & Johnson spun off Kenvue as a standalone company in 2023, separating its faster growing, more profitable medical technical and pharmaceutical business from its consumer products. <\/p>\n

Executives argued at the time that a narrower focus would help each company flourish.<\/p>\n

But Kenvue’s business and its shares have struggled, down almost 30% in a year, making it a target of activist investors, who have bought up stakes and pushed the firm for changes, including a possible sale. <\/p>\n

The firm’s shares sank last month, when the Trump administration publicly linked use of Tylenol during pregnancy to autism, despite what scientists say is inconclusive evidence.<\/p>\n

Sales in the first nine months of the year are down almost 4% compared with 2024.<\/p>\n

In their announcement of the deal, executives said the companies had “complementary strengths” and a combination would accelerate growth. They said they expected to complete the transaction in the second half of next year. <\/p>\n

Together, the firms are on track to generate $32bn in sales in this year, they said. <\/p>\n

“With a broader product range and greater reach, the combined company will be a global health and wellness leader,” they said. <\/p>\n

The cash-and-stock deal values Kenvue at about $48.7bn, the companies said. <\/p>\n

They said Kenvue shareholders would receive about $21 per share, including $3.50 in cash and a portion of shares in Kimberly Clark. <\/p>\n

Kenvue shares jumped 17% in early trading to more than $16.<\/p>\n

But shares in Kimberly-Clark sank more than 10% in a sign of investor doubts about the deal, which exposes the firm to new risks.<\/p>\n

Kenvue is facing a lawsuit from the Texas attorney general, claiming that Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson hid alleged dangers that the drug posed to children’s brain development.<\/p>\n

Kenvue brands, while under the Johnson & Johnson umbrella, had also faced crisis in recent years over lawsuits linking use of its baby powder to cancer. <\/p>\n

A recent lawsuit in the UK picked up on those claims, accusing Johnson & Johnson of knowingly selling baby powder contaminated with asbestos for decades. <\/p>\n

The company, which now makes its talcum powder with cornstarch, has denied the allegations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Natalie ShermanBusiness reporter AFP via Getty Images The Trump administration linked use of Tylenol during pregnancy to autism,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[163,85,46,482],"class_list":{"0":"post-120067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-medication"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}