Monday, July 21, 2014

Did I Miss A Beat, Here? Scholls (Non-US) Rights Belonged To Reckitt Benckiser? Who Knew?!


Back in November of 2009, I suggested that rumors about Dr. Scholl's going to Reckitt seemed. . . unlikely.

Apparently, at some point recently, Reckitt acquired the non-Americas rights to the brand. Now Reckitt is selling those same rights on, to a private equity buyer. So, either I missed a step (an intervening sale -- in 2009 to 2013 timeframe), or this is a new transfer. No matter, Reuters has it all, this morning.

Of course, the US -- and rest of the Americas -- rights will belong to Bayer, as agreed this spring. Per Reuters, then:

. . . .German private equity firm Aurelius said on Monday it is buying Reckitt Benckiser's Scholl shoe business in its efforts to expand internationally, betting on the brand's growth potential.

Under the agreement, Aurelius would acquire the international rights for the Scholl footwear business, excluding North and South America.

The rights to that business in the Americas will go to German drugmaker Bayer as part of its $14 billion purchase of Merck & Co's consumer health business.

Aside from the Scholl shoe business, which is known for its focus on comfort, Reckitt Benckiser has a Scholl-branded footcare business that includes insoles and blister bandages. . . .


The cash Merck got for these legacy Schering-Plough Scholls lines is simply fantastic. Top dollar. Really a coup for Mr. Frazier, at those high valuations. So. . . Onward!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Condor,

The Reckitt purchase was not recent. Bob Luciano, Chairman of SPG at the time, divested the Scholl business outside North America in 1987 to Seton Healthcare which became Seton Scholl Ltd and the SSL International. (Schering later bought back a small piece of the international footcare (non shoe) business in Latin America and maybe another market. Reckitt bought SSL International in 2010. I had thought their Scholl international business and desire to globalize it might have been a significant driver in their chase of the Merck Consumer Care business at the higher prices.