Kimberly-Clark announced Monday morning that it agreed to buy Tylenol maker Kenvue for $48.7 billion, making the newly combined company one of the largest in the consumer health space.
Executives said the acquisition created a new “global health and wellness leader” able to generate up to $32 billion in annual revenue. The manufacturer of Tylenol has now joined the owner of brands such as Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers.
In a press release, Kimberly-Clark Chairman and CEO Mike Hsu said his company is confident “that we will drive significant value for our combined shareholders.”
Kimberly-Clark shareholders will own 54% of the combined company, and Kenvue shareholders will own the remaining 46%. The transaction is set to close in the second half of 2026.
Kimberly-Clark’s shares were down 12.5% in premarket trading on Monday morning, while Kenvue’s shares were up 18%, according to CNBC.
The merger comes as the acetaminophen drugmaker faces scrutiny from the Trump administration and a lawsuit from Texas.
In September, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tylenol was a likely cause behind the rise in autism since the early 2000s and encouraged pregnant women to refrain from taking the pain reliever.
Following the federal warning, Texas became the first state to sue the Tylenol maker over its possible links to autism and ADHD. The lawsuit, filed last week by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alleged Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act by neglecting to tell pregnant mothers of its dangers to unborn children despite scientific evidence.
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Kenvue spun off from Johnson & Johnson in August 2023, taking charge of Tylenol and other brands. Paxton argued Johnson & Johnson “fraudulently transferred its Tylenol-related liabilities to Kenvue” in an effort “to shield its ill-gotten assets from the families they harmed.”
Tylenol and its ties to autism have been the subject of numerous lawsuits in recent years. By May 2023, before Kenvue was created, about 118 lawsuits were pending in federal court.