BRUSSELS, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Kimberly-Clark has offered concessions to address EU antitrust concerns about its $40 billion bid for Tylenol maker Kenvue, a filing on the European Commission website showed on Wednesday.
The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, did not provide details of the remedies in line with its policy. It extended its deadline for a decision to October 13 from September 29.
It is expected to seek feedback from rivals and customers before deciding whether to accept the concessions, demand more or open a full-scale four-month long investigation.
The maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers is ready to sell assets to address EU competition concerns that will likely help it secure approval at the end of regulators’ preliminary review, people familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.
Kenvue’s portfolio of brands include Listerine mouthwash and skincare brands Aveeno and Neutrogena.
Australian competition authorities cleared the deal earlier this month subject to Kimberly-Clark divesting Kenvue’s Carefree and Stayfree period care brands in the country. The U.S. company secured conditional approval in South Africa last month.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Bart Meijer)
