The Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Company has signed an agreement to acquire the consumer health business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, for a purchase price of approximately €3.4 billion ($4.2 billion).
 
P&G said the acquisition will enable the company to expand its consumer health care business by adding a fast-growing portfolio of differentiated, physician-supported brands across a broad geographic footprint. It will also provide P&G with strong health care commercial and supply capabilities, technical abilities, and consumer health care leadership that will complement P&G’s existing consumer health care capabilities and brands such as Vicks, Metamucil, Pepto-Bismol, Crest and Oral-B.
 
“We like the steady, broad-based growth of the OTC health care market and are pleased to add the consumer health portfolio and people of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to the P&G family,” said Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, David Taylor.
 
P&G’s acquisition of the German Merck unit aims to improve its OTC geographic scale, brand portfolio, and category footprint in the vast majority of the world’s top 15 OTC markets, according to the company. 
 
The $1 billion consumer health business of Merck KGaA grew 6% over the past two years and provides a broad range of OTC product remedies to relieve muscle, joint and back pain, colds and headaches as well as products for supporting physical activity and mobility (many of which are treatment areas not currently addressed in P&G’s portfolio). Top brands include Neurobion, Dolo-Neurobion, Femibion, Nasivin, Bion3, Seven Seas and Kytta, along with many others. These are sold primarily in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
 
The acquisition of the consumer health business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, replaces the PGT Healthcare joint venture P&G had with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which will be terminated July 1, 2018, pending regulatory approvals. Following a recent review Teva and P&G concluded that priorities and strategies were no longer aligned and agreed to terms where it would be mutually beneficial to terminate the partnership. PGT product assets will return to their respective parent companies to reestablish independent OTC businesses.
 
The consumer health business of Merck KGaA is active across 44 countries and includes more than 900 products. P&G is targeting to close this deal during the 2018/19 fiscal year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances.