Reckitt Benckiser to buy the K-Y intimate lubricant brand from Johnson & Johnson

British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc yesterday agreed to buy the K-Y brand of intimate lubricants from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for an undisclosed sum.

Slough–based Reckitt Benckiser has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the global rights K-Y brand from McNEIL-PPC Inc, a subsidiary of J&J.

Reckitt Benckiser said that no fixed assets or employees are included in the transaction, which is expected to close in mid 2014.

K-Y, a global leader in intimate lubricants, started as a prescription medical device in 1917 and switched to over-the-counter in 1980.

K-Y will add to Reckitt Benckiser portfolio of brands in the sexual wellbeing category, which includes Powerbrand Durex condoms.

K-Y is sold in over 50 countries, with the US, Canada and Brazil accounting for the majority of its 2013 sales of over $100 million.