Reckitt Homecare Suitors Temper Valuations Amid Tariff Worries

Reckitt in July first unveiled plans to sell some of the homecare brands it deemed non-core.

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

When Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc set out last year to sell a portfolio of homecare brands, including household names such as Air Wick and Cillit Bang, it drew a bevy of private equity suitors despite a hefty £6 billion ($7.7 billion) price tag.

But a bid deadline this week saw potential buyers of the business, including Lone Star Funds and Advent International, balk at making binding offers and pitch valuations in a much lower range of £3 billion to £4 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.