Kimberly-Clark gains European Commission approval for USD 40B Kenvue acquisition
The divestment covers the Kotex brand, including its Lidie sub-brand, as well as Camelia and Record.
USA – The European Commission has approved Kimberly-Clark’s USD 40 billion acquisition of Kenvue after the company agreed to divest several feminine hygiene brands in the European Economic Area.
As part of the arrangement, Kimberly-Clark will sell all of its tampon and other feminine hygiene brands across the EEA, effectively exiting that segment of the regional market.
The sale also includes the associated intellectual property rights, know-how, key employees, and commercial relationships connected to these businesses.
According to the European Commission, these commitments fully resolve the competition concerns identified during its review by eliminating the horizontal overlap between Kimberly-Clark’s and Kenvue’s activities in the EEA.
At the same time as approving Kimberly-Clark’s acquisition of Kenvue, the European Commission also cleared Turkish consumer goods distributor Dilek Gida Üretim’s purchase of the divested brands.
The Commission determined that Dilek has the financial resources needed to maintain and develop the business, as well as the expertise required to operate it as a viable and active competitive force in the market.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition at the European Commission, said, “One of the issues that concerns many women is the price of feminine hygiene products.”
“These are essential products that women cannot do without.”
The European Commission’s approval is conditional on Kimberly-Clark fully complying with its commitments.
Under the terms of the EU decision, Kimberly-Clark must divest its feminine hygiene brands throughout the EEA, and an independent trustee will monitor implementation under the Commission’s supervision.
On the same day, Kimberly-Clark also announced that its consent solicitations for Kenvue notes and amendments to its exchange offer terms had succeeded.
The company said it had received the required consents to adopt certain proposed amendments to all outstanding Kenvue notes.
Depending on the bond series, Kimberly-Clark tendered approximately 74% to 98% of the outstanding principal amount by its early participation deadline.
These steps are intended to align the two companies’ financing structures ahead of the proposed merger.
The consent solicitations relate to Kimberly-Clark’s offer to exchange up to USD 7 billion in new Kimberly-Clark debt securities and cash for Kenvue notes held by investors.
Together, these developments indicate that Kimberly-Clark’s acquisition of Kenvue is moving closer to completion and could become one of the largest transactions in the global personal care industry.
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