Procter & Gamble Co.

Carolyn Bertozzi is rejoining the board of Eli Lilly on Dec. 8, the pharma giant disclosed in a Friday evening SEC filing . The 2022 Nobel laureate , who has co-founded more than 10 biotech startups, was previously on the Lilly board from 2017 until 2021. Bertozzi resigned in 2021 as one of her startups, Lycia Therapeutics , did a collaboration and licensing deal with Lilly. Lilly’s deal with Lycia is still in effect, CEO Aetna Wun Trombley confirmed to Endpoints News via email. The collaboration is worth more than $1.6 billion in biobucks. Lilly is currently acquiring a biotech led by Lycia board member Laurent Fischer. His gene therapy company, Adverum Biotechnologies , announced its deal with Lilly last month. Lilly has drastically grown since Bertozzi was last in the Indianapolis pharma’s boardroom. It sprinted ahead of Novo Nordisk in the obesity drug race and briefly reached the $1 trillion market cap milestone on Friday morning, making it the first drugmaker to ever do so . Bertozzi is a Stanford University professor whose research helped lay the foundation for the field of click chemistry. Her name is attached to startups such as TwoStep Therapeutics , Firefly Bio and Palleon Pharmaceuticals. On Lilly’s board, she’ll be part of the science and technology and ethics and compliance committees. Lilly’s board is chaired by CEO David Ricks and includes nearly a dozen members, including Procter & Gamble CEO Jon Moeller, T. Rowe Price chief operating officer Kimberly Johnson and AutoZone CFO Jamere Jackson.

Bengaluru: Kleenex maker Kimberly-Clark said on Monday it will buy Kenvue for more than $40 billion in a landmark deal for the consumer sector, as the Tylenol maker grapples with White House scrutiny and choppy demand. Kenvue's shareholders will get $21.01 per share in cash and stock, implying a hefty 46.2% premium to the stock's last closing price. Shares of Kenvue were up about 20% in premarket trading, while Kimberly-Clark's shares were down nearly 15%. Kimberly Clark would be scooping up the former Johnson & Johnson unit after months of struggles by Kenvue that include the ouster of its CEO in July and a share slump when President Donald Trump in September asserted that Tylenol use can lead to autism, a claim not backed by conclusive research. Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr acknowledged that there was no evidence proving Tylenol causes autism, but repeated his view that signs of a link between the two were "very suggestive". Apart from certain looming litigations against Tylenol, Kenvue is also facing lawsuits over claims that its baby powder products caused cancer, dampening investor sentiment. Still, Kimberly-Clark expects about $2.1 billion in annual cost savings from the acquisition, which it expects to close in the second half of 2026. Set to be the largest buyout in the U.S. consumer goods sector to date, the merger will give Kimberly-Clark access to Kenvue's vast portfolio of brands from Listerine mouth wash and Band-Aid to skincare names like Aveeno and Neutrogena - with the combined company expected to bring in annual revenues of roughly $32 billion. DEAL TIMING The timing of the deal, although probable, was earlier than expected, given the negative litigation and regulatory headlines around Kenvue, RBC Capital Markets analyst Nik Modi said. "We believe Kimberly-Clark's capabilities are evolved versus Kenvue - which should help improve brand performance," Modi said, adding that it will take investors some time to process the long-term implications. Sources in June told Reuters the strategic review of Kenvue's operations could include a sale or breakup of the company that had been spun off from healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson in 2023. Kimberly-Clark is also navigating a consumer goods environment increasingly fraught with a more value-seeking shopper, forcing companies, including sector bellwether Procter & Gamble to invest in smaller pack sizes, and trim underperforming business units. Kimberly-Clark sold a majority stake in its international tissue business to Brazilian pulp maker Suzano as part of a restructuring, proceeds from which are expected to help the Kenvue buyout, the company said on Monday. GOING FOR OVER $40 BILLION Kenvue's shareholders will receive $3.50 per share and 0.15 Kimberly-Clark shares for each Kenvue share held. That implies an equity value of $40.32 billion, according to Reuters calculations. Either party may be required to pay a $1.12 billion termination fee in cash if the deal falls through, according to a regulatory filing. Upon closing, Kimberly-Clark's CEO Mike Hsu will take over as the top boss and chairman of the combined company. Kimberly-Clark said it had received committed financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank, and that it expects to fund Kenvue's purchase through a mix of cash and debt. (Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Savyata Mishra; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Devika Syamnath)

Bengaluru: Kleenex maker Kimberly-Clark said on Monday it will buy Kenvue for more than $40 billion in a landmark deal for the consumer sector, as the Tylenol maker grapples with White House scrutiny and choppy demand. Kenvue 's shareholders will get $21.01 per share in cash and stock, implying a hefty 46.2% premium to the stock's last closing price. Shares of Kenvue were up about 20% in premarket trading, while Kimberly-Clark 's shares were down nearly 15%. Kimberly Clark would be scooping up the former Johnson & Johnson unit after months of struggles by Kenvue that include the ouster of its CEO in July and a share slump when President Donald Trump in September asserted that Tylenol use can lead to autism, a claim not backed by conclusive research. Last week, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr acknowledged that there was no evidence proving Tylenol causes autism, but repeated his view that signs of a link between the two were "very suggestive". Apart from certain looming litigations against Tylenol, Kenvue is also facing lawsuits over claims that its baby powder products caused cancer, dampening investor sentiment. Still, Kimberly-Clark expects about $2.1 billion in annual cost savings from the acquisition, which it expects to close in the second half of 2026. Set to be the largest buyout in the U.S. consumer goods sector to date, the merger will give Kimberly-Clark access to Kenvue's vast portfolio of brands from Listerine mouth wash and Band-Aid to skincare names like Aveeno and Neutrogena - with the combined company expected to bring in annual revenues of roughly $32 billion. DEAL TIMING The timing of the deal, although probable, was earlier than expected, given the negative litigation and regulatory headlines around Kenvue, RBC Capital Markets analyst Nik Modi said. "We believe Kimberly-Clark's capabilities are evolved versus Kenvue - which should help improve brand performance," Modi said, adding that it will take investors some time to process the long-term implications. Sources in June told Reuters the strategic review of Kenvue's operations could include a sale or breakup of the company that had been spun off from healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson in 2023. Kimberly-Clark is also navigating a consumer goods environment increasingly fraught with a more value-seeking shopper, forcing companies, including sector bellwether Procter & Gamble to invest in smaller pack sizes, and trim underperforming business units. Kimberly-Clark sold a majority stake in its international tissue business to Brazilian pulp maker Suzano as part of a restructuring, proceeds from which are expected to help the Kenvue buyout, the company said on Monday. GOING FOR OVER $40 BILLION Kenvue's shareholders will receive $3.50 per share and 0.15 Kimberly-Clark shares for each Kenvue share held. That implies an equity value of $40.32 billion, according to Reuters calculations. Either party may be required to pay a $1.12 billion termination fee in cash if the deal falls through, according to a regulatory filing. Upon closing, Kimberly-Clark's CEO Mike Hsu will take over as the top boss and chairman of the combined company. Kimberly-Clark said it had received committed financing from JPMorgan Chase Bank, and that it expects to fund Kenvue's purchase through a mix of cash and debt. (Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Savyata Mishra; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Devika Syamnath)