Reckitt Benckiser Group’s proposed acquisition of Johnson & Johnson’s K-Y lubricant brand could lead to price increases, the UK competition regulator said.
The two companies combined would sell almost 75 per cent of the personal lubricants in UK supermarkets and pharmacies, the Competition and Markets Authority said in a recent statement.
The regulator recommended remedies including the sale or licensing of the K-Y brand in Britain and extended the probe it began in January by eight weeks. A final decision is now expected on 18 August.
“The merger could lead to a substantial reduction in competition, possibly through higher prices, making customers buying these products in grocery retailers and national pharmacy chains worse off,” the CMA said.
Reckitt Benckiser brushed off the decision, saying that the rationale for buying K-Y’s gels and lubricants was to gain access to the brand’s sales in the US, Canada and Brazil.
“We’re disappointed, and we would have liked to have had a different decision,” Reckitt Benckiser spokeswoman Patty O’Hayer said by phone. “The UK would have been nice to have. We will continue to work with the CMA."
News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM
