Reckitt eyes new options to advance Air Wick unit sale, sources say
By Amy-Jo Crowley and Richa Naidu
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Reckitt is considering new options to advance a sale of its Essential Home business, home to Air Wick fresheners and Cillit Bang cleaners, after bids came in below expectations, two people with knowledge of the process said.
The company still plans to pursue a sale, the people said, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. Private equity firm Advent remains in talks for the assets, one of the people and a third person said.
Reckitt, which also makes Mucinex cold medication and Durex condoms, said in July it was looking to offload a portfolio of homecare brands by the end of 2025.
The proposed sale comes at a challenging time for businesses with factories around the world as they navigate U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, which are roiling supply chains, boosting costs and dampening shopper sentiment.
Reckitt could keep a stake in the business or structure a sale another way to bridge a gap in valuations, one of the people said, adding that some of the bids came in below its hopes of over 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion).
Reuters could not determine if other bidders remained in the process.
Reckitt and Advent declined to comment.
Bankers and CEOs have hit the brakes on mergers and acquisitions since Trump launched his trade war, with fewer deals getting signed than during the bleakest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
Reckitt said in April that it was "continuing to progress" the sale of the Essential Home business but that market conditions might affect the time frame.
Consumer staples companies are considered relatively resilient to economic downturns, but big brands like Reckitt, P&G and Unilever increasingly face competition from cheaper private label brands that gained popularity during the pandemic.
Reckitt's Essential Home business has struggled for several quarters, with sales falling 7% in the first quarter of this year to 482 million pounds, about 13% of total revenue for the quarter.
Reckitt has been undergoing a turnaround under CEO Kris Licht, who has sought to reassure shareholders concerned about the strength of the company's brands in North America and Europe, where consumer confidence has been dwindling.
($1 = 0.7397 pounds)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China's Didi Q1 revenue rises 8.5% as recovery gains pace
BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Global reported an 8.5% rise in revenue in the first quarter of 2025 to 53.3 billion yuan ($7.42 billion) on Thursday, as its recovery from a regulatory overhaul of its operations gathered pace. The Beijing-based company reported net income of 2.4 billion yuan for the quarter, versus a loss of 1.4 billion yuan a year earlier, after adopting new accounting standards. Didi drew the attention of China's cyberspace regulator in 2021 over its pursuit of a U.S. initial public offering without approval, prompting an inquiry that prohibited it from adding users and saw many of its apps removed from stores. The regulator fined Didi $1.2 billion in July 2022 over a data security violation, before granting the company permission to relaunch its apps in early 2023. The company was delisted from the U.S. in 2022. Travel demand in China has shown signs of a recovery despite sluggish economic growth. Didi completed 3.3 billion transactions during the quarter, a 10.3% year-on-year rise across its platforms in China. ($1 = 7.1805 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
China's Didi reports first-quarter revenue up 8.5%
BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Global on Thursday reported an 8.5% rise in revenue in the first quarter of 2025 to 53.3 billion yuan, as its recovery from a regulatory overhaul of its operations gathered pace. The Beijing-based company reported net income of 2.4 billion yuan for the quarter, versus a loss of 1.4 billion yuan a year earlier, after adopting new accounting standards. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
OpenAI finds more Chinese groups using ChatGPT for malicious purposes
By Anna Tong SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -OpenAI is seeing an increasing number of Chinese groups using its artificial intelligence technology for covert operations, which the ChatGPT maker described in a report released Thursday. While the scope and tactics employed by these groups have expanded, the operations detected were generally small in scale and targeted limited audiences, the San Francisco-based startup said. Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, there have been concerns about the potential consequences of generative AI technology, which can quickly and easily produce human-like text, imagery and audio. OpenAI regularly releases reports on malicious activity it detects on its platform, such as creating and debugging malware, or generating fake content for websites and social media platforms. In one example, OpenAI banned ChatGPT accounts that generated social media posts on political and geopolitical topics relevant to China, including criticism of a Taiwan-centric video game, false accusations against a Pakistani activist, and content related to the closure of USAID. Some content also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, generating X posts, such as "Tariffs make imported goods outrageously expensive, yet the government splurges on overseas aid. Who's supposed to keep eating?". In another example, China-linked threat actors used AI to support various phases of their cyber operations, including open-source research, script modification, troubleshooting system configurations, and development of tools for password brute forcing and social media automation. A third example OpenAI found was a China-origin influence operation that generated polarized social media content supporting both sides of divisive topics within U.S. political discourse, including text and AI-generated profile images. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on OpenAI's findings. OpenAI has cemented its position as one of the world's most valuable private companies after announcing a $40 billion funding round valuing the company at $300 billion.
