At the time, some analysts said Coca-Cola's planned acquisition wasto torpedo the Pepsi deal. They argued that if regulators approved the earlier deal, it couldn't reject the Coca-Cola deal, which was similar in size.
The smaller of the two conglomerates, Edgewell had 15% of the wet shave razor market in 2018, compared to Gillette's half,The buyout also would have put the Harry's cofounders in control of Edgewell's domestic business, which includes wet shave razor manufacturers Schick, Intuition, and Skintimate, as well as sunscreen brands Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic.
Steve Salop, a professor at Georgetown Law who teaches courses in antitrust law, said Procter & Gamble would have "independent reasons" for wanting to buy a razor company that appeals to a base of younger consumers. BillieBuying a business to thwart another acquisition is also not a very effective strategy, said the anti trust attorney who requested to remain anonymous. The Federal Trade Commission is "too unpredictable" to assume it can be manipulated.
Salop also pointed out that the timeline doesn't support the argument that Procter & Gamble bought a company to scuttle a rival's deal. The Billie sale came about eight months after Schick owner Edgewell announced its acquisition of Harry's.