10 573
Fashion Jobs
FASHION PERSONNEL
National Account Manager
Permanent · LONDON
FASHION PERSONNEL
Senior Sales Executive
Permanent · LONDON
UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS
Treasury Services Administrator
Permanent · LONDON
BOOTS
Optical Consultant
Permanent · LONDON
BOOHOO GROUP
Head of Sustainability
Permanent · MANCHESTER
NEW LOOK
Buyer (915/Multiproduct)
Permanent · LONDON
FARFETCH
Senior BI Analyst
Permanent · LONDON
PUIG
Penhaligon's Campaign & Content Executive
Permanent · LONDON
PUIG
Penhaligon's Fragrance Consultant, Westfield White City (30 Hours/4 Days Per Week)
Permanent · LONDON
HARRODS
Enterprise Services Administrator
Permanent · LONDON
TAGGED RESOURCES
Sales Account Manager (Tgm1758) - £50k
Permanent · LEICESTER
TAGGED RESOURCES
Sales Account Manager (Tgm1757) - £40k-£45k
Permanent · LEICESTER
TAGGED RESOURCES
Merchandiser/Account Manager (Tgm1756) - Walsall
Permanent · WALSALL
MAC COSMETICS
Maternity Cover - MAC Cosmetics - Keyholder - 37.5 Hours
Permanent · LONDON
MAC
MAC Cosmetics - Keyholder - House of Fraser - 37.5 Hours
Permanent · GLASGOW
PEOPLE MARKETING
Junior Account Manager
Permanent · LONDON
N BROWN
Digital Product Manager
Permanent · MANCHESTER
PENTLAND
Senior Global Retail Marketing Manager
Permanent · NOTTINGHAM
THG
People Operations Business Partner - Ftc
Permanent · MANCHESTER
MAC
MAC Cosmetics - Keyholder - House of Fraser - 37.5 Hours
Permanent · GLASGOW
NADINE MERABI
Product Director
Permanent · MANCHESTER
TK MAXX
Loss Prevention Officer
Permanent · CAMBERLEY
By
Reuters
Published
Nov 19, 2009
Reading time
2 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

Colgate stock up on Reckitt deal talk, company mum

By
Reuters
Published
Nov 19, 2009

CHICAGO/PHILADELPHIA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL.N) shares hit a new year high on Wednesday 18 November after a report suggested that the toothpaste maker could be close to linking up with Lysol manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc (RB.L).

Colgate Palmolive

The Telegraph reported online that Britain's Reckitt is close to announcing a "multi-billion pound, cross-border transaction," but said it was unclear which company Reckitt was targeting.

The report said that SSL International (SSL.L), the British maker of Durex condoms, has long been seen as a target for Reckitt. It also said that well-placed, unidentified sourcesthought Colgate was the most obvious candidate.

Shares of Colgate jumped as high as $87.39 before ending the session up 3.7 percent at $85.87. Colgate issued a press release to say it does not comment on unusual market activity and that the New York Stock Exchange had contacted the company about its share move.

Reckitt, which closed at 3100.21 on the London Stock Exchange, also declined to comment.

"Colgate is a very attractive company given its Latin American distribution, but its similar size to Reckitt would suggest a merger is more likely than an acquisition," said Sanford Bernstein analyst Ali Dibadj, who follows Colgate.

If Reckitt and Colgate were to pursue a merger, it would mark the first major deal in the household products space since Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) paid $57 billion for Gillette in 2005.

Colgate holds a 3.9 percent share of the world cosmetics and toiletry market compared to Reckitt's fractional presence, according to Euromonitor International. In household care products, Colgate holds a 3.6 percent market share, while Reckitt commands nearly 9 percent.

A SIZE ISSUE

Since Colgate and Reckitt are similar in market capitalization, an outright takeover would be difficult, said two industry sources, who declined to be identified by name.

Colgate's market capitalization is $41.2 billion, while Reckitt's is $37.1 billion.

The two companies could pursue a merger, but such an arrangement may require dual-listed stocks and dual managements, said the industry sources, who declined to be identified by name because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

A merger structure would reduce the savings normally seen in large-scale acquisitions, they said.

Investors are likely to hear more about the speculation on Thursday 19 November, when Colgate and Reckitt executives speak at a Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail conference in New York that is closed to media.

Speculation of a deal with Reckitt fueled an all-out feeding frenzy in Colgate call options, according to Interactive Brokers Group equity options analyst Caitlin Duffy.

About 63,000 Colgate call options changed hands, 21 times their recent average daily turnover and more than double the amount of its put options, according to option analytics firm Trade Alert. (Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago and Jessica Hall in Philadelphia, additional reporting by Doris Frankel in Chicago, editing by Michelle Gershberg, Matthew Lewis and Leslie Gevirtz)

© Thomson Reuters 2024 All rights reserved.