P&G Abandons Billie Acquisition; Coty Board Changes; Beauty News In Brief

Procter & Gamble Co., owner of the Gillette and Venus brands, will not be acquiring women’s razor and body-care company Billie, Inc., a plan the companies announced in January 2020. The US Federal Trade Commission, which initiated legal measures to block the merger in December, is pleased. (Also see "P&G’s Planned Billie Acquisition? Not So Fast, FTC Says" - HBW Insight, 9 December, 2020.) “Procter & Gamble’s abandonment of the acquisition of Billie is good news for consumers who value low prices, quality, and innovation,” states Ian Conner, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. Billie targets millennial and Gen Z consumers with inclusive, body-affirming advertising and pricing that purportedly eliminates the “pink tax” traditionally levied on women’s razor purchasers. In a joint statement to Reuters, the companies said, “We were disappointed by the FTC’s decision and maintain there was exciting potential in combining Billie with P&G to better serve more consumers around the world.” The development follows a similar decision from Edgewell Personal Care in February 2020 not to acquire Harry’s, Inc. after the FTC objected. (Also see "Edgewell Without Harry’s: Strategic Path Remains The Same, Just A Longer Road Now" - HBW Insight, 11 February, 2020.)

Anna Adeola Makanju and Mariasun Aramburuzabala Larregui joined Coty, Inc.’s board of directors in December, giving the board a female majority (seven of 13 directors), according to the firm’s announcement. Makanju currently is global policy manager for content regulation at Facebook, responsible for “driv[ing] the company’s approach to emerging regulatory frameworks around the world