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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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)
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Unilever to guarantee European ice cream workers' employment terms for 3 years, memo shows
By Richa Naidu LONDON (Reuters) -Ben & Jerry's maker Unilever has agreed to guarantee its ice cream workers' employment terms in Europe and Britain for at least three years after the business' spin-off, according to a memo, tripling the usual period in such deals. Under European Union and British legislation, employees' contracts and collective agreements can be renegotiated one year after sales or spin-off deals. The decision will lock the new ice cream company into a three-year deal that will impact how it treats and pays employees in Europe, regardless of uncertainty or changes to the environment in which it operates. Unilever announced the spin off of its ice cream unit, which includes five of the world's top 10 category brands including Magnum and Wall's, in March 2024 and said it would cut 7,500 jobs from the group globally to save costs. About 3,200 layoffs were initially expected in Europe but Reuters reported in November that the British consumer company had nearly halved this figure by moving people to the ice cream unit. The new ice cream business will have its primary listing in Amsterdam. "Working conditions will be protected for at least three years and cannot be worsened," according to the memo reviewed by Reuters and sent on Tuesday from the European Works Council to Unilever employees after nearly a year of negotiations with the company. Unilever did not respond to a request for comment. The ice cream unit's roughly 6,000 workers will be able to maintain the same conditions on salaries, bonuses, share plans, pensions and holidays, according to a source familiar with the discussions with Mustafa Seçkin, the chairperson of the new company's European business. THE MAGNUM ICE CREAM COMPANY The source, who did not have permission to speak with the press, said further layoffs were unlikely at the business, which generated sales of 8.3 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in 2024 and is to be named The Magnum Ice Cream Company. On July 1, the business is expected to launch as an independent company under the Unilever umbrella, ahead of the demerger at the end of this year. Ben & Jerry's independent board members were not part of the negotiations with the European works council, nor were they consulted, the source said. Unilever has been embroiled for nearly a year in an acrimonious legal battle with the independent board of Ben & Jerry's, one of its biggest brands, over allegations that it is muzzling the Vermont-based company - including on political issues - hurting its ability to carry out its social mission. ($1 = 0.8809 euros) Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Unilever to guarantee European ice cream workers' employment terms for 3 years, memo shows
By Richa Naidu LONDON (Reuters) -Ben & Jerry's maker Unilever has agreed to guarantee its ice cream workers' employment terms in Europe and Britain for at least three years after the business' spin-off, according to a memo, tripling the usual period in such deals. Under European Union and British legislation, employees' contracts and collective agreements can be renegotiated one year after sales or spin-off deals. The decision will lock the new ice cream company into a three-year deal that will impact how it treats and pays employees in Europe, regardless of uncertainty or changes to the environment in which it operates. Unilever announced the spin off of its ice cream unit, which includes five of the world's top 10 category brands including Magnum and Wall's, in March 2024 and said it would cut 7,500 jobs from the group globally to save costs. About 3,200 layoffs were initially expected in Europe but Reuters reported in November that the British consumer company had nearly halved this figure by moving people to the ice cream unit. The new ice cream business will have its primary listing in Amsterdam. "Working conditions will be protected for at least three years and cannot be worsened," according to the memo reviewed by Reuters and sent on Tuesday from the European Works Council to Unilever employees after nearly a year of negotiations with the company. Unilever did not respond to a request for comment. The ice cream unit's roughly 6,000 workers will be able to maintain the same conditions on salaries, bonuses, share plans, pensions and holidays, according to a source familiar with the discussions with Mustafa Seçkin, the chairperson of the new company's European business. THE MAGNUM ICE CREAM COMPANY The source, who did not have permission to speak with the press, said further layoffs were unlikely at the business, which generated sales of 8.3 billion euros ($9.4 billion) in 2024 and is to be named The Magnum Ice Cream Company. On July 1, the business is expected to launch as an independent company under the Unilever umbrella, ahead of the demerger at the end of this year. Ben & Jerry's independent board members were not part of the negotiations with the European works council, nor were they consulted, the source said. Unilever has been embroiled for nearly a year in an acrimonious legal battle with the independent board of Ben & Jerry's, one of its biggest brands, over allegations that it is muzzling the Vermont-based company - including on political issues - hurting its ability to carry out its social mission. ($1 = 0.8809 euros) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Importers race to turn US warehouses into tariff-free zones
By Richa Naidu and Arriana McLymore LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -Companies importing goods into the United States from China are rushing to convert warehouses into facilities that are exempt from President Donald Trump's tariffs until they are ready to sell the merchandise. The U.S. has more than 1,700 bonded warehouses, facilities where imported goods can be held without immediate payment of customs duties such as tariffs, currently 30% for shipments from China. Such fees are only paid when the goods leave the bonded warehouse, allowing businesses to manage funds more effectively at a time of extreme trade policy volatility. The rush to bond U.S. warehouses for goods ranging from clothing to auto parts is a bet for some that raised U.S. tariffs will be only a short-term policy by the Trump administration. Due to Trump's tariff war, many of these bonded warehouses are now at full capacity, and prices for space in them have skyrocketed, four industry sources told Reuters, prompting companies to apply to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to expand bonded space. Utah-based fulfillment firm LVK Logistics, for instance, is in the process of making one of its warehouses bonded "in response to the tariffs," CEO Maggie Barnett told Reuters, adding she expects the process to take three to four months. "You can bond more or less anywhere," said Chris Rogers, who manages the supply chain research team at consultancy S&P Global Market Intelligence. "It involves money and it takes time, but if you are a big company and expect tariffs are going to remain elevated for an extended period, you can convert (existing) spaces into bonded warehousing." Other companies and logistics firms are seeing their applications with the CBP backlogged in some cases by over six months, said Chris Huwaldt, vice president of solutions at WarehouseQuote, a logistics research firm. Last year, the process would have taken a couple of months, he added. Huwaldt said getting storage space certified as bonded "could cost thousands of dollars or it could cost six figures," depending on the state the warehouse is based in, the financial status of the company and the additional security measures required by the CBP for a specific location. Trump's on-again, off-again tariff policy - which pushed duties on Chinese goods to as much as 145% in April before lowering them - makes the flexibility afforded by bonded warehouses appealing to companies. "A lot of companies importing from China - not just China-based, but U.S. importers as well - are taking advantage of bonded warehouses to assist with cash flow," said Cindy Allen, shipping consultant at Trade Force Multiplier and a former FedEx Logistics executive. "It doesn't necessarily save them money as the tariffs have to be paid when the goods are withdrawn from the warehouse. But it allows companies to pay duties in smaller increments as they are sold," she said. The CBP said it has noticed an increased interest in the use of bonded warehouses for continued compliance with new regulations and executive orders. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 'UNPRECEDENTED' WAREHOUSE RUSH In early 2024, bonded storage space was rented at approximately twice the cost of standard storage rates, but since the start of 2025, it has risen to four times the price to rent non-bonded space, according to WarehouseQuote data. "This rush to bonded warehouses to ease cash flow is unprecedented," Allen said. During the first Trump administration, many companies simply accepted the levies on China. But this meant firms paid more over a prolonged period of time while also being forced to invest in alternative sources to China. Importers "don't want to repeat the past mistakes," Allen said. Setting up new bonded warehouses could be risky, because the United States may go back to higher tariffs once its 90-day reprieve ends. Vladimir Durshpek, cofounder of Venice, Florida-based warehousing and storage company CargoNest, said he is weighing adding a third bonded warehouse to his assets until U.S. tariff negotiations are completed. "What we don't want to do is rush into providing more capacity, and then things change," he said. Fremont, California-based storage company DCL Logistics has not made definitive plans for bonded space because "it's unclear if the demand will stay this high," Chief Revenue Officer Brian Tu said. "By the time a lot of warehouses would be able to achieve bonded status right now, these additional tariffs might be gone, and the demand for bonded space might not be there," said Jacob Roseburrough, director of marketing at WarehouseQuote.
