Israel Approves Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue Merger Conditional on Divestment
Israel's Competition Authority approved the merger of Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue on the condition that feminine hygiene operations are divested to prevent market concentration and price hikes.
The Israel Competition Authority has approved the merger between Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Kenvue Inc, conditioned upon the divestment of the feminine hygiene business. The international transaction involves Kimberly-Clark acquiring the entire share capital of Kenvue.
In Israel, Kimberly-Clark operates in baby care, adult incontinence products, and paper goods, alongside manufacturing and marketing disposable feminine hygiene products under the Kotex and Lily brands. Kenvue, whose products are imported via various distributors, produces health and personal care items and owns the global brands o.b. tampons and Carefree pantyliners.
The competition watchdog's investigation revealed that the unconditional merger posed a significant risk of harming competition in the feminine hygiene sector, where both corporations rank among the top three players. Specifically in the tampon market, the merging entities would hold substantial control, leaving only two competitors and potentially driving up prices in Israel.
To neutralize these antitrust concerns, the Commissioner conditioned the approval on Kimberly-Clark selling its entire Israeli feminine hygiene operation to an independent third party approved by the authority. Furthermore, the agreement with the buyer must be executed prior to the merger's final completion, echoing similar conditions imposed by regulatory bodies in Europe, New Zealand, and Australia.
