P& not to acquire startup Billie following FTC lawsuit

The startup was successful in capturing the interest of younger users to millennial-aged consumer

Procter & Gamble will not acquire women’s beauty products startup Billie, as previously planned, following action taken by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to stop the deal from proceeding. In December, the FTC sued to block P&G’s acquisition of the New York-based startup Billie, a maker of women’s razors and other beauty products, on the grounds that the merger would eliminate competition in the wet shave razor market.

P&G and Billie issued a joint statement, expressing their regret over the FTC’s decision to attempt to block their merger, which led to the deal’s termination: We were disappointed by the FTC’s decision and maintain there was exciting potential in combining Billie with P&G to better serve more consumers around the world. However, after due consideration, we have mutually agreed that it is in both companies’ best interests not to engage in a prolonged legal challenge, but instead to terminate our agreement and refocus our resources on other business priorities.

Billie had made a name for itself in the women’s razor market by offering to eliminate the so-called “pink tax,” which refers to how women’s products are often marked up at higher price points compared with similar products aimed at men. It later expanded into the broader beauty market with a focus on more natural products that are free of additives and chemicals, including sulfates, parabens, formaldehydes, GMOs, drying alcohols, synthetic dyes, fragrances, cheap foaming agents, unstable silicones and BHT.

The startup was also particularly successful in capturing the interest of a younger, Gen Z to millennial-aged consumer, who responded to its mission as well as its modern, and often even progressive, marketing across social media and the web.