Kimberly-Clark is laying down $40 billion to buy Kenvue in a massive deal that has puzzled some investors as the Tylenol maker struggles with weak sales, lawsuits and White House attacks linking its painkiller to autism.
Neutrogena – Courtesy
Shares of Kimberly-Clark dropped sharply after the Monday announcement as stockholders scrutinized the 46% premium being paid for the former Johnson & Johnson unit that has had a turbulent year: Kenvue ousted its CEO in July and has been under fire from President Donald Trump over unproven claims that Tylenol use during pregnancy can cause autism in children.
Kenvue shares, which had dropped sharply since Trump’s comments, jumped as much as 19.6% on Monday. Many investors have been awaiting a sale of all or parts of the company for months, following activist pressure.
Kimberly-Clark had admired Kenvue for years, going back to when it was still part of J&J, and viewed it as a target, but deal talks between the companies started after Kenvue announced it was reviewing strategic alternatives and the departure of its CEO over the summer, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, said the market reaction suggests some investors believe Kimberly-Clark “may be buying damaged goods”.
Despite the concerns, Kimberly-Clark forecast $2.1 billion in annual cost savings from the deal, with the addition of Kenvue’s vast portfolio of brands from Listerine mouth wash to skincare names like Aveeno and Neutrogena expected to bring in annual revenues of roughly $32 billion for the combined company.
Both companies sit side by side on store shelves, so the scale and distribution logic make sense even if the Tylenol overhang remains a shadow any buyer would rather avoid, said Kimberly Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.
“Kimberly-Clark will take on potential litigation risk for the Tylenol brand… This is hard to quantify,” said TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow.
There are concerns around Kenvue’s potential legal exposure to hundreds of private lawsuits alleging the company hid supposed links between Tylenol and autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.
While U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently said there is no conclusive evidence of such a link, he called existing data “very suggestive.”
U.S. sales of Tylenol fell 11% between September 20 and October 4 after the Trump administration’s remarks, BNP Paribas analyst Navann Ty said in a note last month.
Kenvue is also battling litigation tied to its talc-based baby powder products.
“Most investors expected Kenvue to sell off select brands, not the entire company, given the Tylenol and talc overhangs. But Kimberly-Clark likely saw long-term value in a strong brand portfolio trading at a steep discount,” said James Harlow, senior vice president at Novare Capital Management.
Kenvue investors cheered the deal.
One long-term investor who has spoken with the board and management over the last months called the deal “awesome”, while some others said the price was not as good as they would have hoped for two months ago, before the company came under fire from the White House.
“They did have a long slog ahead of them … I think they must have looked at the situation and … had the opportunity to sell the whole company. That’s the most simple of transactions,” Harlow said, adding that selling off individual brands would have taken a long time.
Kenvue has long struggled with weakness in its core businesses, especially the skin health and beauty segment – a challenge activist investors have previously flagged. The company said on Monday third-quarter sales at the skin health segment fell 3.2% to $1.04 billion.
“One of our challenges at Kenvue right now is we’re living in between, which is no place to live – in the murky middle,” said Kirk Perry, who was named permanent CEO of Kenvue earlier in the day.
Kimberly-Clark is also navigating a consumer goods environment increasingly fraught with a more value-seeking shopper, forcing companies, including sector bellwether Procter & Gamble to invest in smaller pack sizes, and trim underperforming business units.
It sold a majority stake in its international tissue business to Brazilian pulp maker Suzano, as part of a restructuring, proceeds from which are expected to help the Kenvue buyout, the company said on Monday.
“Kimberly-Clark has been discussing its ‘transformation’ for some time now, but do think this feels like very early days to be nearly doubling the size of the company,” Barclays analysts said.
Kenvue’s shareholders will receive $3.50 per share and 0.15 Kimberly-Clark shares for each Kenvue share held. That implies an equity value of $40.32 billion, according to Reuters calculations.
The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2026, will be financed through a mix of cash and debt, with committed funding from JPMorgan Chase Bank.
Either party may be required to pay a $1.12 billion termination fee in cash if the deal falls through, according to a regulatory filing. Upon closing, Kimberly-Clark’s CEO Mike Hsu will take over as the top boss and chairman of the combined company.
It’s not just major UK shopping centres that are enjoying strong letting percentages. As part of its ongoing repositioning, Northern France’s Les 3 Fontaines has now fully pre-let 110,000 sq ft of outstanding retail space, operator Hammerson said.
Image: Hammerson
The final unit has been signed for a Nike store which will join Primark as anchor tenants when the new stores opens in 2027.
Located in Cergy, Val d’Oise, the Les 3 Fontaines destination comprises 1 million sq ft of prime retail space, including 350,000 sq ft added in 2022.
Between then and 2024, annual footfall has risen 15%, reaching 13 million annual visits. Growth continues, with year-on-year visitor numbers up a further 3.4% so far in 2025, Hammerson said.
Other recently-signed retail brands include Aroma-Zone, a leading natural beauty brand in France, while Inter-Actif, an official Apple Premium Partner, will also open next month.
Since the beginning of the year, 20 long-term leases have also been completed with €36 million (£31.60 million) in contracted rents.
The destination features 200 occupiers, including Sephora, Adidas, Mango, Footlocker, and Zara.
Grégoire Peureux, chief operating officer at Hammerson, commented: “Achieving 100% pre-letting for this latest repositioning epitomises our asset and leasing strategy. Our success is driven by creating attractive spaces that generate demand, broaden the appeal of our destinations, and grow rental income and value. With further openings and more leasing to come, our momentum continues.”
Growing your own business is a difficult art. This year, French premium lingerie label Livy is expected to top the €24 million mark in gross revenue, driven by rising organic sales and new store openings in France and abroad.
A look from Livy’s Signatures range – Livy
Livy’s strictly French success story in the high-end lingerie segment began in 2017 with founder Lisa Chavy, backed by the Etam and Vog groups. In order to bolster its development, last year Livy hired Julie Pellet, formerly head of growth, product marketing Southern Europe, at Meta, as managing director. Just under a year later, and even if Livy is still thriving, Pellet has stepped down from the post. “We’re still very much on the same wavelength, but I think it was a little early in the company’s trajectory to introduce a managing director role,” said Chavy. “I’m upgrading [Livy’s] staff’s skills, and we’re recruiting new heads of retail, wholesale and digital,” she added.
Livy has hired Audrey Azria, formerly in charge of retail for western Europe at British lingerie brand Agent Provocateur, a sign that Livy is planning to expand the footprint of its collections, which blend glam lingerie, ready-to-wear and chic lifestyle products. The new heads of digital and wholesale will be tasked with boosting Livy’s online business and forging relationships with new partners, notably with international department store chains.
Earlier this year, Livy carried out a funding round to support its expansion plans, and is now tweaking its market positioning to a more upmarket one than in its early days. It will also need to revamp its store fleet in order to fit with the new positioning. “We’ve closed the stores in Beaugrenelle and Passy in Paris, which were no longer consistent with our style. We’re now performing best [with stores] placed alongside those of luxury labels. We’ve opened in Monte Carlo and Nice, because our swimwear range is extremely successful. In Saint-Tropez, we increased our revenue by two and a half times over the previous year, and we’ve had good results in Marbella,” said Chavy.
In the same vein, Livy is set to open in the Alpine resort of Courchevel this winter, and is planning further expansion outside France, aiming to open a second store in London, and new stores in Milan and Rome.
Among the highlights of the next edition of children’s fashion and lifestyle trade show Pitti Bimbo—its 102nd event, taking place in Florence, Italy on from January 21 to 22—will be a new collaboration with the Spanish brand Bobo Choses. In recent years, Bobo Choses has become “the emblem of a new and multifaceted approach to childrenswear,” according to the organisers of the Florentine fair.
Pitti Bimbo 102 unveils a collaboration with the Spanish brand Bobo Choses
The partnership will give rise to a new area, the name of which has yet to be revealed, where, alongside the new collections, events, and presentations curated by the participating brands will take place. For now, Maison Mangostan, Mini Rondini, Piupiuchick, Tinycottons, The New Society, and True Artist have confirmed their presence in the new space.
Following its debut last June, Piazza Pirouette will also return for the winter edition. Curated by Katie Kendrick, the project will transform from a bustling summer market into a winter fairy tale in which to discover new collections from labels such as Goldie+Ace, Sticky Lemon, Stych, Paade Mode, Halcyon Nights, and Bundgaard. At the centre of the Piazza, a new showcase will allow buyers to discover a selection of the latest finely crafted products, ready to order, from brands such as Blue Francis, MoiToiNous, and Forivor, among others.
Finally, Pitti Bimbo 102 will also host a new edition of the collaboration with The Family Circle, the Hamburg-based marketplace founded by Nadine Jung, known for its carefully curated selection of accessories and lifestyle items.
“At the beginning of November, the cross-functional Pitti Bimbo team is engaged in a European roadshow (Naples, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, London, to be followed by Milan at the end of the month), during which it is presenting the highlights and features of the next edition while at the same time gathering feedback, suggestions, and impressions,” said Antonio Cristaudo, commercial director of Pitti Immagine. “This format, launched last spring with the aim of fostering open dialogue among Pitti Bimbo exhibitors, buyers and journalists brought together side by side, has created the ideal conditions for these new relationships. We are seeing strong support both for these and for the continued presence of the show’s most established brands, such as the Miniconf group (iDo, Ducati, Sarabanda, Minibanda, Roy Roger’s), the Falc group (with the brands Falcotto, W6YZ, Naturino, Flower Mountain for Naturino), the Artcraft International group (with the brands Canadian, Crocs, Heydude, Colors of California, Mou), and, among others, Bugatti, Escada, and Aigner.”
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