Latest news with #ReckittBenckiser
Reuters
20 hours ago
- Health
- Reuters
Thousands of lawsuits over baby formula should stay where filed, court says
CHICAGO, June 4 (Reuters) - An Illinois appeals court said on Tuesday that thousands of lawsuits claiming baby formula made by Abbott Laboratories and a Reckitt Benckiser subsidiary causes a dangerous disease in preterm infants should stay in the court where they were filed, a venue considered plaintiff friendly. The Appellate Court of Illinois' 5th District upheld, opens new tab a lower court's ruling rejecting Abbott and Mead Johnson's motions to transfer the lawsuits out of Madison County, Illinois. The decision allows the claims to move forward in what is often viewed as a plaintiff-friendly county court. Madison County is often flagged by tort reform groups as a jurisdiction known for outsize jury verdicts against corporate defendants. The appellate court, however, reversed the lower court's ruling denying the companies' separate motion to transfer or dismiss the lawsuits based on their argument that the cases were filed in an inconvenient location. The appeals court sent that ruling back to the lower court for reconsideration. A representative for Mead Johnson said in a statement that the company will continue to pursue dismissal of the cases in Madison County, many of which don't involve Mead Johnson products or injuries that occurred in the county. The representative said that plaintiffs' lawyers were trying to "coerce settlement by building a large inventory of claims, even when plaintiffs' lawyers have no intention of ever trying them,' the company said. A spokesperson for Abbott Laboratories did not respond to a request for comment. Tor Hoerman, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs said in a statement that the ruling "reinforces the importance of corporate accountability and helps ensure that families impacted by these tragic injuries can seek justice in the appropriate forum." All of the lawsuits allege that the companies failed to warn that their specialized formulas used by newborn intensive care units in hospitals could cause necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that almost exclusively affects premature infants and has an estimated mortality rate of more than 20%. The companies have denied the claims, saying that while breast milk protects against NEC, formula does not cause it, and that the benefits of breast milk have long been known to clinicians. In addition to state court cases in Illinois, Missouri and Pennsylvania, a federal multidistrict litigation with more than 700 cases over the claims is moving forward in Chicago, according to court records. The same Illinois appeals court is also considering a similar dispute over transferring more cases over the preterm formula that are currently pending in St. Clair County, Illinois, another court targeted by tort reformers for being plaintiff-friendly. In 2024, a jury in St. Clair County ordered Mead Johnson to pay $60 million to the mother of a premature baby who died after being fed the company's Enfamil baby formula. A few months later, a St. Louis, Missouri, jury ordered Abbott to pay $495 million in damages in another case. Both companies prevailed in the most recent trial, in October. However, the judge in that case in March ordered a new trial, finding that lawyers for the defendants had acted improperly. The case is Jupiter v. Mead Johnson and Co LLC, Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District, No. 230248. For the plaintiffs: Ashley Keller and Benjamin Whiting of Keller Postman; Tor Hoerman of TorHoerman Law; and David Cates of Cates Law Firm For Abbott Laboratories: Linda Coberly and Stephen D'Amore of Winston & Strawn; Thomas Kilbride and Adam Vaught of Kilbride & Vaught; and W. Jason Rankin and Emilee Bramstedt of HeplerBroom For Mead Johnson: Joel Bertocchi of Akerman; Anthony Anscombe and Darlene Alt of Steptoe & Johnson; and Donald Flack of Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Indian ad industry a different world, growing tremendously: Havas CEO
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Popular in Services 1. Gaming co MPL accuses ASCI of 'tampering' with their ads The advertising industry in India is "growing tremendously" and "is a different world" compared to Europe, said Yannick Bollore , global chief executive and chairman of French advertising group Havas, which represents Reckitt Benckiser, Swiggy Tata Motors and Hindustan Unilever in India, across creative, media buying and outdoor advertising."When you look at Europe or the US compared to what's happening in India, it's a completely different world. We are happy with 2-3% organic growth in Europe; in India you have 10% plus growth year-on-year," he told ET at Havas Village, the Gurugram-based India office of the ₹2.7 billion listed French advertising and communications group. "India and China are two regions of the world where we see tremendous growth - they're two very large economies with very large populations." Large multinationals such as Coca-Cola, Reckitt Benckiser, Levi's and Unilever have identified India as a core growth bastion amid global headwinds, despite an ongoing urban chief of the world's fifth largest ad group, said he's advising global advertisers "to continue investing in India" despite recent geopolitical disturbances and US-imposed tariffs, which have disrupted business and investor sentiment."These (events) do create uncertainty.. investors and businesses don't like uncertainty. When clients make investments, they want to make sure they know the landscape or the rules for the coming three, four, five years. We're telling them to continue looking at the long term... that if you invest for the long term, you'll find growth," he India operates 25 agencies under creative, media and health verticals. Last December, the French network announced its listing on Euronext, Amsterdam, but retained a minority family ownership."I know in today's world, it's hard because we have so many moving pieces from a geopolitical or macroeconomic environment. But in terms of investment in advertising, we don't see any real impact.. people are continuing to deploy their plans," Bollore optimism about the Indian ad market, which estimates peg at '1.6 lakh crore, Bollore said, "Millions of people here are accessing the middle class with buying power. That's driving growth for cars, consumer products and spirits. Manufacturing and infrastructure are driving growth too.. so is talent and the level of education - this is a strong consumer facing country."However, the sector has been seeing intensified competition. The past months have seen mega global consolidation, such as New York's Omnicom Group's announcing a merger with Interpublic Group to create a global behemoth, with agencies such as McCann, Lowe Lintas, FCB and DDB Mudra in their fold. Publicis Groupe, too, has been in consolidation mode, with agencies under its network including Publicis, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi and a query on how Havas would compete against the global giants, Bollore said, "To operate, I believe you need to have some scale.. If you want to operate globally, you need to have a network of agencies all over the world in multiple areas of expertise, creativity, media buying, e-commerce, social media, everything... At the same time, it's better not to be the biggest. Because when you're the biggest, you don't really have advantages, you are less agile. I think for Havas being the best challenger at scale is giving us a different type of edge."Bollore declined to comment on a potential acquisition of stake in Sam Balsara-owned Madison World, but said inorganic growth and strategic acquisitions were very much part of the group's growth plans.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
A sunny spring shines a glowing light on this drinks company's new chief
These all feel like positive steps for a company whose share price is no higher than it was 16 years ago. In the meantime, the balance sheet offers some downside protection and also the prospect for further progress. Net debt, adjusting for leases and a pension surplus, stands at €180m and a recent extension of banking facilities to 2030 means the management team has time on its side when it comes to effecting a turnaround in the company's fortunes. Free cash flow can serve to reduce those borrowings, and also fund cash returns to shareholders. C&C increased its dividend by 5pc in the year just ended and also bought back €30m in stock, in keeping with the plan to return €150m in cash to shareholders across the financial years to February 2025, 2026 and 2027. That sum equates to a fifth of the current stock market capitalisation, using the exchange rate of €1.1934 to the pound that prevails at the time of writing. Questor says: buy Ticker: CCR Share price: 162.8p Update: Indivior Such is the wild trajectory of the share price of Indivior since its demerger from the former Reckitt Benckiser 11 years ago that some investors may be relieved to see it cancel its secondary listing and withdraw from the London market. Others may feel the lowly valuation merits patient support even when the stock can only be traded on Nasdaq. Sceptics will chunter about a history of litigation and profit warning, including three of the latter in 2024. Supporters will put forward Indivior's role as a developer of key treatments for substance abuse disorders, especially in the area of opioid dependency, and how 2024 saw the firm generate its highest levels of sales since 2014's spin-off and its best profits since 2017. Competition and how Presidential policy could affect Medicaid funding will be challenges and sources of further debate. Both sides of the argument will then have to chew over the valuation. The shares stand well below their 2018 record highs of around £24. As a result, even after the final trading alert, which warned of lower sales in 2025 thanks to fall in revenues from Suboxone for which sales from Sublocade would not fully compensate, analysts' forecasts put the stock on a forward price-to-earnings ratio of less than nine times for 2025 and less than eight times for 2026. If Sublocade can still reach Indivior's medium-term target of $1.5bn, compared to the $756m recorded in 2024, then profits could motor and render the shares cheaper still. Where the shares are listed will make no difference to this at all; new chief executive Joe Ciaffoni and new chair Dr. David Wheaton must get the company to deliver on its targets. There is enough value here to persuade long-time holders to cling on.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
FTSE pharma giant joins London stock market exodus
A £1.1bn drug company is to quit the London Stock Exchange (LSE) as the troubled market battles an exodus of businesses. Indivior, which makes opioid addiction treatments, has announced plans to delist in London and focus solely on New York. The company said the move reflected the fact that most of its investors and business were in the US, adding that the depth of the market on Wall Street 'far outweighs' London. It is a fresh blow for the London Stock Exchange, which has been battling to stop an exodus of businesses either to the US or into private hands. The market has also struggled to attract new listings to replace those that have left, leaving it shrinking. In total, 88 companies left the London Stock Exchange last year in the biggest flight from the UK's main market since the financial crash. More broadly, the number of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange has fallen by 40pc since 2008. Indivior was spun out of Reckitt Benckiser, the British consumer goods giant known for Dettol and Durex, in 2014. A member of the FTSE 250, Indivior is best known for its drug Suboxone, which is used to treat addiction to opioids such as heroin. The company said 80pc of its sales now come from America, reflecting both the size of the market and the legacy of the opioid crisis that has ravaged the US. The drug company has been listed on the London stock market since its demerger but acquired a secondary listing on New York's Nasdaq exchange in 2023. New York became its primary listing a year ago. David Wheadon, Indivior's chairman, said: 'A single primary listing on Nasdaq best reflects the profile of Indivior's business.' Over 70pc of its shareholders are now based in the US and 75pc of trades in its shares are carried out on the Nasdaq exchange, the company said. It added: '[The delisting] recognises that liquidity on Nasdaq now far outweighs liquidity on the LSE.' The company said the exit would help it cut costs by ending the complexity of maintaining two listings. The shift follows an overhaul of Invidior's top management in February following pressure from activist investor Oaktree Capital Management. Oaktree accused the company's management of 'doubling down on a failing strategy, ignoring competitive threats and allowing costs to spiral'. Dozens of businesses have moved their listings from London to New York in recent years, including gambling giant Flutter and construction equipment business Ashtead.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Blow to City as pharma group quits London after share price plunge
Indivior is set to delist from the London Stock Exchange after a sharp decline in the value of its shares and a management shake-up earlier this year. The pharmaceutical group, known for its opioid addiction treatments, said on Monday it would cancel its secondary listing on the LSE at the end of July and maintain a primary listing on the Nasdaq. Indivior, which switched its primary listing from the UK to the US last year, told investors the decision to quit London would help cut costs. The firm also took aim at London's weak liquidity and trading volumes, and high administrative costs relative to the New York exchange. Indivior floated in London after being spun-out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, with its share price rocketing from 725p to 2,450p by June 2018. However, shares have slumped more than 60 per cent from their peak, trading at 944.5p at Friday close. Indivior also said a solo primary listing better reflects the fact it generates more than 80 per cent of net revenues in the US, which is also home to around 70 per cent of its investors. Shares will cease trading in London after roughly 40 business days, with the delisting pencilled in from 8am on 25 July. The decision comes just months after Indivior overhauled its management, with the group appointing David Wheadon as chair and Joe Ciaffoni as chief executive. Wheadon said on Monday the decision to delist from London was a 'key milestone for Indivior'. He added 'We appreciate the support received from shareholders for this initiative and look forward to capitalising on the expected benefits of this move, including reductions in cost and complexity.'
