Kenvue

Nov. 3 (UPI) — The Texas-based Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced Monday it reached a deal to purchase Kenvue — the maker of Band-Aid and Tylenol products — for $48.7 billion.

The combination cash and stock transaction will see Kimberly-Clark acquire all outstanding shares of Kenvue common stock. A news release from Kimberly-Clark said the sale will put 10 billion-dollar brands together under the same company.

Kimberly-Clark’s brands include Kleenex, Cottonelle, Huggies, Poise, Pull-Ups, Scott, Viva and Kotex.

“We are excited to bring together two iconic companies to create a global health and wellness leader,” CEO Mike Hsu said.

“With a shared commitment to developing science and technology to provide extraordinary care, we will serve billions of consumers across every stage of life.”

Kimberly-Clark said the sale is expected to close in the second half of 2026 upon approval by shareholders of both companies. Upon completion, Hsu will serve as chairman of the board and CEO of the combined company. Meanwhile, three board members from Kenue will join Kimberly-Clark’s board.

In the wake of the news, Kenvue’s shares increased 20% in premarket trading, and Kimberly-Clark’s decreased by 14% Monday, CNBC reported.

Less than a week before the announcement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was suing Kenvue and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, for “deceptively marketing” Tylenol as a safe pain reliever.

The Trump administration announced in September that there was a link between Tylenol and an increased risk of autism, though, on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to explicitly claim that Tylenol causes autism.

A potential legal headache for consumer healthcare giant Kenvue (KVUE -13.50%) was causing pain for investors on Thursday. Such troubles tend to spook the market; hence the more than 13% sell-off of Kenvue across that trading session. The S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.63%), by comparison, did much better on the day with “only” a 0.6% decrease.

New lawsuit with old allegations

Until it was spun off into a separate company, Kenvue was part of sprawling pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 0.50%). The company has faced tens of thousands of lawsuits over its Johnson’s Baby Powder, a once talc-based product that is widely alleged to have caused various types of cancer.

Image source: Getty Images.

The first such lawsuit in the U.K. has been filed by a group of roughly 3,000 claimants, according to reporting from various media. It was submitted to the English High Court against both Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson.

The former company basically inherited Johnson & Johnson’s numerous consumer healthcare products, a portfolio that included Johnson’s Baby Powder. In 2020, the main ingredient in the now-controversial product was switched from talc to cornstarch.

Kenvue responds

Reporting on this development, Reuters wrote that Kenvue’s response was that it did not believe the court would find that the talc-based powder causes cancer, as the claimants allege.