U.K. company acquires Mead Johnson for $17.9 billion

Reckitt Benckiser Group, a consumer health and hygiene company based in the United Kingdom, will acquire Glenview-based Mead Johnson Nutrition in a deal valued at $17.9 billion.

Mead Johnson, the maker of Enfamil and Nutramigen baby formula, will become a new division of RB, the company said. The company has operations in more than 60 countries, with headquarters in London, Dubai and Amsterdam, and employs about 37,000 people.

Mead Johnson's board of directors has approved the acquisition, which is expected to occur during the third quarter.

"As part of Reckitt Benckiser, a bigger health care-focused business recognized for its marketing capabilities, we will derive benefits from both increased scale and diversification," said Mead Johnson CEO Kasper Jakobsen.

RB's CEO Rakesh Kapoor said the acquisition will help the company expand further into China.

"Mead Johnson's geographic footprint significantly strengthens our position in developing markets, which account for approximately 40 percent of the combined group's sales, with China becoming our second largest 'Powermarket,'" Kapoor said. "We will draw on the best of both businesses and continue to build on Mead Johnson's extensive R&D, regulatory, quality and specialist distribution capabilities."

Reckitt Benckiser's biggest-ever takeover boosts growth prospects as sales advance at the slowest pace in more than five years amid tough conditions in Europe and emerging markets like Brazil.

Bloomberg News contrubuted to this report