9 months ago
62 Thibaut Mongon, CEO and Paul Ruh CFO of Kenvue Inc. a Johnson & Johnson's consumer-health business, airs unneurotic during the company's IPO astatine the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) successful New York City, U.S., May 4, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Johnson & Johnson connected Thursday said its shareholders volition soon beryllium capable to swap their shares for banal of Kenvue, which spun out arsenic an autarkic user wellness institution conscionable 2 months ago.
J&J owns astir 90% of Kenvue shares and plans to trim its involvement done an speech connection that could motorboat "as aboriginal arsenic the coming days," depending connected marketplace conditions, J&J CFO Joseph Wolk said during the company's second-quarter earnings call.
That process, besides known arsenic a split-off, volition let J&J shareholders to speech each oregon a information of their shares for Kenvue's communal stock. J&J did not supply further details connected the planned offer.
But Wolk said a split-off is the "most advantageous signifier of separation" for J&J. He added that aft the split, Kenvue volition astir apt person a shareholder basal that wants to ain its stock.
When asked astir J&J's planned speech offer, Kenvue CEO Thibaut Mongon told CNBC's "Squawk connected the Street" that the institution is "pleased with the mode that the IPO has been received by shareholders."
"We spot a batch of alignment among our caller investors successful seeing the imaginable of Kenvue, but I tin archer you that we are afloat acceptable to permission arsenic a afloat autarkic company," helium said.
Kenvue shares fell pursuing the announcement Thursday, adjacent though the institution bushed net and gross estimates successful its first quarterly report since its IPO. Kenvue besides initiated a quarterly currency dividend of astir 20 cents per stock for the 3rd quarter, payable to shareholders connected Sept. 7.
J&J's second-quarter results besides bushed expectations connected Thursday, sending the company's banal 6% higher.
Previously, J&J did not disclose whether it would divest its Kenvue shares done a split-off oregon a spinoff. The second would impact distributing Kenvue banal to existing J&J shareholders alternatively than giving them the enactment to exchange.
The suggested timing of the connection came arsenic a surprise.
Kenvue's IPO filing successful April said J&J agreed to hold 180 days to merchantability oregon transportation its shares of the caller company, which would person constricted immoderate split-off until the extremity of October astatine the earliest.
The filing said J&J would lone beryllium capable to bash truthful with written support from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, the IPO's pb underwriters.
