Reckitt Benckiser leaned on Sard Verbinnen & Co for PR support as the England-based consumer health products giant outbid Bayer to acquire vitamin marketer Schiff Nutrition with a $1.4B offer.
RB said Nov. 16 it has commenced its unsolicited tender offer of $42 per share in cash, carrying an expiration date of Dec. 14. That trumped a $34-a-share deal Bayer had announced in late October. Bayer conceded that it was out-bid by RB this week.
Sard Verbinnen managing director Jim Barron in New York works the RB account. Andraea Dawson-Shepherd is senior VP, global corporate communication & affairs for RB, based in the U.K.
Schiff's products include the Aiborne, Fi-Bar and Tiger's Milk brands of vitamins, nutritional supplements and snack bars, among others. The company is based in Utah.
Schiff, which had $258.9M in fiscal 2012 revenues, works with Lippert/Heilshorn for financial communications support.