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P&G buys consumer health unit of Merck KGaA

Protor & Gamble owns consumer health brands like Crest toothpaste. Photo: Roberto Machado Noa / LightRocket via Getty Images

Procter & Gamble is acquiring the consumer health products division of German conglomerate Merck KGaA for $4.2 billion, its first major deal since activist investor Nelson Peltz won a seat on the company's board of directors. This adds to P&G's lineup of health products like Crest, Pepto-Bismol and Vicks.

Why it matters: P&G's buyout of Merck KGaA's consumer health business comes right after Novartis sold its own to GlaxoSmithKline. Meanwhile, Pfizer is still looking to unload its bigger over-the-counter division to a market that now excludes two large purchasers.

The bottom line: "Morgan Stanley analyst Vincent Meunier said the price implied a valuation of 4.7x sales and around 19x EBITDA for the business, at the high end of recent deals in the sector." — Ludwig Burger, Reuters

Go deeper

Axios
33 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Kenosha shooting lawsuit accuses police of coordinating with militia

Police and protesters confront in front of the Kenosha County Courthouse on Aug. 25, 2020. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The only survivor of a fatal shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during protests last year has accused law enforcement in a lawsuit of conspiring with a "band of white nationalist vigilantes," the Washington Post reported Saturday.

Of note: Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, is due to stand trial on Nov. 1, accused of wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, who filed the suit, and killing two other people protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Aug. 25, 2020. He's pleaded not guilty to charges including homicide and attempted homicide and maintains he fired in self-defense.

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Oriana Gonzalez, Rebecca Falconer
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Venezuela suspends talks with opposition after Maduro ally extradited to U.S.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, in June. Photo: Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A key ally of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro was extradited from Cape Verde to the U.S. Saturday to face money laundering charges in Florida, Bloomberg first reported.

Why it matters: Venezuela's government called off negotiations with opposition officials that were scheduled for Sunday in Mexico in response to the extradition of Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman and financial fixer for Maduro.

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Kierra Frazier
6 hours ago - Health

5 times as many police officers have died from COVID as from guns since pandemic began

Photo: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

COVID-19 is the leading cause of death for police officers even though members of law enforcement were among the first to be eligible to receive the vaccine, CNN reports, citing data from the Officer Down Memorial Page.

Why it matters: Nearly 476 police officers have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic started, compared to the 93 deaths as a result of gunfire in the same time period, according to ODMP and CNN.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow