The Commission said the deal as first notified would have removed an important competitor in tampon supply in Czechia, Estonia and Slovakia, where few other suppliers are present. To settle those concerns, Kimberly-Clark will divest its EEA tampon and feminine hygiene brands, Kotex including the Lidie sub-brand, Camelia and Record, together with intellectual property, know-how and key employees, to Dilek, a Turkish consumer goods distributor the Commission approved as purchaser in the same decision, with an independent trustee to monitor compliance. The transaction, notified on August 25, was cleared in Phase I, and it adds Kenvue’s Listerine, Nicorette, Neutrogena and o.b. brands to a Kimberly-Clark portfolio built on Huggies and Kleenex.
Brussels clears Kimberly-Clark Kenvue takeover with divestment
The European Commission on Tuesday approved Kimberly-Clark's acquisition of Kenvue, conditional on the company divesting all its tampon and feminine hygiene brands in the European Economic Area, including Kotex, to Turkey's Dilek.
Why it matters: The clearance removes the largest remaining regulatory hurdle for one of the year's biggest consumer deals, and it follows conditional approvals in Australia and South Africa that also turned on period-care overlaps.
Data as of European Commission press release ip_26_2137, October 13, 2026, read in full. Developing item, 2 to 3 sentences by design.
Sources
- Commission approves Kimberly-Clark's acquisition of Kenvue, subject to conditions · European Commission · 2026-10-13