Church & Dwight circled by Durex maker and Procter & Gamble
Durex maker Reckitt Benckiser and Procter & Gamble are working on offers for Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD), the maker of Arm & Hammer brand products and Trojan condoms, the Spanish-language online Negocios.com reported.
Durex is ready to table the highest offer for 100% of Church & Dwight, in order to control the world market for condoms, the report said, citing unspecified sources. Church & Dwight is the market leader of prophylactic in the United States, and the transaction could be worth EUR 10bn to EUR 15bn, including all its business: allergy medication products, beauty and hygiene, the report said.
A market report in the Financial Times said that the shares of Reckitt Benckiser had increased by 0.3% to GBP 68,50 on the speculation, though Negocios.com did not mention Reckitt itself. Market sources however ruled out that antitrust authorities would permit a merger of Trojan with Durex, according to the market report.
Negocios, Financial Times