Deals
P&G to Buy German Merck’s Consumer Unit for $4.2 Billion
- Deal will add over-the-counter health brands to P&G products
- Transaction follows flurry of deals in health-care industry
Photographer: Getty Images
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Procter & Gamble Co. agreed to buy Merck KGaA’s consumer-health business for 3.4 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to bolster growth, betting that vitamins and decongestants can hasten its comeback.
The deal gives the maker of Crest toothpaste a stable of products with sales growth of 6 percent in the past two years, double the pace of traditional consumer goods such as razors, diapers and tissues. German drugmaker Merck put the the unit up for sale last year as it pumps money into testing new medicines.