Advent International will buy a 70% stake in Reckitt’s essential home business, which also includes brands such as Air Wick.
Household goods giant Reckitt Benckiser has agreed a deal worth up to 4.8 billion US dollars (£3.6 billion) to sell its majority stake in its Cillit Bang and Calgon arm.
Private equity firm Advent International will buy a 70% stake in Reckitt’s essential home cleaning products business, which also includes brands such as Air Wick, Woolite, Resolve, Sole and Easy-Off, as well as around 75 other brands across more than 70 markets.
Reckitt will keep a 30% stake in the essential home business after the sale, with up to 1.3 billion dollars (£968 million) deferred under the deal.
The firm will also book around 800 million dollars (£596 million) in costs for splitting out the essential home division from the rest of the business.
It expects to complete the deal by the end of the year.
Kris Licht, Reckitt chief executive, said: “We are executing our strategic plan at pace.
“The divestment of Essential Home represents a significant step forward in unlocking the substantial value in our business.
“This moves Reckitt towards becoming a simpler, more effective world-class consumer health and hygiene company and it will enable us to focus on a core portfolio of high-growth, high-margin power brands.”
It put the essential home division, which accounts for 13% of group net revenues, up for sale last summer as part of a major overhaul.
Mr Licht has been leading a plan to restructure Reckitt, unveiling aims last year to spin off its baby formula business, Mead Johnson, and sell the essential home division to focus on “power brands”, such as Durex condoms, Gaviscon antacid and Strepsils lozenges.
