Kimberly-Clark is set to buy Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, which has faced attacks from the White House and flagging demand for its products.
The more-than $40bn (£30.5bn) cash-and-stock deal would create a consumer giant, with a portfolio of some of the world's most commonly stocked bathroom and medicine cabinet items.
Kimberly-Clark makes Kleenex, Huggies nappies and some of the biggest toilet paper brands in the US. As well as Tylenol, Kenvue is known for Band-Aid, Zyrtec, Benadryl, Neutrogena and Aveeno.
Both firms have been under pressure as price-conscious households increasingly turn to cheaper, store-brand versions of their products.
Johnson & Johnson spun off Kenvue as a standalone company in 2023, separating its faster growing, more profitable medical technical and pharmaceutical business from its consumer products.
