Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)’s consumer health unit Kenvue has filed to be listed as an independent company on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "KVUE."
Kenvue, which J&J says has components signifying knowledge and sight, is a milestone in the healthcare giant’s 135-year history. Pronounced ken-view, the name is a mashup of “ken” — an English word for knowledge primarily used in Scotland — and “vue,” a reference to sight.
With the Kenvue IPO filing, J&J is a step closer to spinning off its consumer-health business from its prescription-drug and medical-devices units in 2023.
READ: Johnson & Johnson reaches $205M settlement in Australian pelvic mesh class action
The stand-alone company will house some of the most famous brands in consumer health, including Band-Aid bandages, Tylenol medicines, Listerine mouthwash, Johnson’s baby powder and Neutrogena skin products.
J&J earlier said it is initiating the consumer-health separation, which it announced last year, because it says the businesses, their customers and markets have diverged so much in recent years.
The product brands won’t be changing, though packaging would be updated to include the Kenvue name and logo.
According to the Wall Street Journal, products that will be part of Kenvue clocked up $14.6 billion in revenue in 2021, nearly 16% of total J&J sales.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), based in New Brunswick, New Jersey will continue to be the name of the company housing the drug and device businesses.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive