Reckitt Benckiser has taken a fresh £2.5 billion hit in selling off its baby formula business in ChinaWhen Rakesh Kapoor announced Reckitt Benckiser’s $18 billion acquisition of Mead Johnson, the American company behind the Enfamil infant formula brand, he hailed the deal as a “significant step forward” in the company’s “journey as a leader in consumer health”. Just over four years later, Reckitt has offloaded the bulk of its baby formula business in China to a local private equity firm, taking a fresh £2.5 billion hit and bringing to an end what analysts had called one of its biggest strategic mistakes. SponsoredThe botched acquisition, which was more expensive than all of Reckitt’s other deals combined, came after a series of blows to the business under Kapoor, 62, who resigned as chief executive in September 2019 after eight years in charge and who

Source: The Times June 07, 2021 22:52 UTC