Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is reportedly discussing the spin-off and initial public offering (IPO) of its consumer business Kenvue with investors, in a move set to test the waters of the subdued market.
Kenvue will meet with investors as early as Monday to discuss the float, according to the Wall Street Journal, in a bid to raise over US$3.5bn on the New York Stock Exchange in the coming weeks.
If pushed through, Kenvue’s offering would be the largest in a so-far calm US IPO market, which has raised just US$2.3bn in 2023, marking the worst start to a year since 2009.
Kenvue is valued at close to US$40bn, Wall Street Journal sources said, and would trade under the ticker KVUE.
The soon-to-be separate firm recorded just shy of US$15bn in global sales last year, including from goods such as Johnson’s baby shampoo, band-aids and paracetamol, accounting for 15.7% of J&J’s total.
Net profit sat at US$2.1bn meanwhile, with Kenvue having been operated as “a company within a company” since the turn of the year, J&J chief financial officer Joseph Wolk said last week.
The spin-off, he added, “will position both companies to be more agile, focused and competitive”.