Kimberly-Clark completes $48.7 billion acquisition of Kenvue

The acquisition marks Kimberly-Clark’s expansion into the beauty category, and will see Kenvue’s health and beauty brands Neutrogena, Aveeno, OGX and Listerine sit under the same umbrella as Kenvue’s personal care brands

Kimberly-Clark has completed its US$48.7bn acquisition of Kenvue.

The tie-up will see Kenvue’s health and beauty brands Neutrogena, Aveeno, OGX and Listerine sit under the same umbrella as Kimberly-Clark’s personal care brands.

The acquisition also marks Kimberly-Clark’s expansion into the beauty category, and means the business can “provide preferred solutions through every stage of life”, it said in a company statement.

Brands under its umbrella already include Kleenex, Huggies, Andrex and Kotex.

Kenvue was spun off from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in 2023, and also owns a number of brands in the health care space, such as Tylenol, Benadryl and Nicorette.

"Today marks a defining moment in Kimberly-Clark's 154-year history as we welcome Kenvue and hit the ground running as one company," said Mike Hsu, Chairman and CEO of Kimberly-Clark.

"I am deeply grateful to our Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue teams around the world for enabling this next step.”

Kimberly-Clark claimed it is now well positioned to capture growing demand for “science-backed, high-quality and high-performance solutions across everyday needs”, a company statement read.

It will also operate with four business segments across North America, and Asia-Pacific-focused markets, which will include Greater China, Australia/New Zealand, South Korea and Indonesia.

Plus, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and enterprise markets, which will include Latin America (including Brazil), India, Southeast Asia markets and Japan.

Hsu added: “We share a rich heritage: pioneering entire categories and forming deep, lifelong bonds with consumers around the world as we help generations of people take care of themselves and their loved ones, every day.

“Now, at a moment when the need for better care is undeniable and growing, we have an urgent opportunity to be there for more people, in more places and across evolving unmet needs.”

He continued: “Our focus now is to move with speed and purpose to unlock the full potential of this combination. I am confident that our shared commitment to care and strong execution will enable us to deliver generational value for consumers, customers and shareholders."

Kenvue kicked off a strategic review of its business in July amid falling sales and job cuts.