The European Commission has given its approval this Tuesday, although with conditions, to the acquisition of the American Kenvue, manufacturer of health and care products such as "Listerine" or "Tylenol", by the also American Kimberly-Clark, owner of brands like Kleenex and Scottex. The permission is conditional on the buyer divesting its female hygiene business in the European market to avoid competition distortions.
During the analysis of the operation, community services detected risks of reduced competition in the markets of the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Slovakia, especially in the female hygiene segment, due to the possibility that a global giant like Kimberly-Clark would also come to control the company responsible for "Listerine", "Neutrogena", and the "o.b." tampons.
To dispel Brussels' doubts, Kimberly-Clark has committed to selling its female hygiene brands in the European Economic Area (EEA) —Lidie, Camelia, and Record— including intellectual property rights, technical know-how, as well as key employees and related business relationships. This package of assets will be acquired by the Turkish company Dilek, in a transaction that has also received the approval of the European Commission this Tuesday.
The community executive considers that these commitments adequately address the competition concerns identified, by eliminating the horizontal overlap between the activities of both companies within the European Economic Area.