Household goods giant Reckitt Benckiser has agreed a deal worth up to 4.8 billion US dollars (£3.6 billion) to sell a majority stake in its Cillit Bang and Calgon arm.

Private equity firm Advent International will buy a 70% stake in Reckitt’s essential home cleaning products business, which also includes brands such as Air Wick, Woolite, Resolve, Sole and Easy-Off, as well as around 75 other brands across more than 70 markets.

Reckitt will keep a 30% stake in the essential home business after the sale, with up to 1.3 billion dollars (£968 million) deferred under the deal.

It will offload six factories, including a site in Derby, to Advent under the deal.

The firm will also book around 800 million dollars (£596 million) in costs for splitting out the essential home division from the rest of the business.

It expects to complete the deal by the end of the year.

Kris Licht, Reckitt chief executive, said: “We are executing our strategic plan at pace.

“The divestment of Essential Home represents a significant step forward in unlocking the substantial value in our business.

“This moves Reckitt towards becoming a simpler, more effective world-class consumer health and hygiene company and it will enable us to focus on a core portfolio of high-growth, high-margin power brands.”

It put the essential home division, which accounts for about 14% of group net revenues, up for sale last summer as part of a major overhaul.

Mr Licht has been leading a plan to restructure Reckitt, unveiling aims last year to spin off its baby formula business, Mead Johnson, and sell the essential home division to focus on “power brands”, such as Durex condoms, Gaviscon antacid and Strepsils lozenges.

The essential home business delivered around £2 billion of net revenues in 2024 and it made underlying earnings of £486 million in the year to March.

Reckitt said the sale would help further boost shareholder returns, with it set to pay out a 2.2 billion dollar (£1.6 billion) special dividend to investors.

The group added it plans to offset the costs of spinning off the division under wider aims to cut costs across the firm.

Shares in Reckitt lifted 2% in morning trading on Friday.

Ranjan Sen, managing partner of Advent said: “The carve-out represents a unique opportunity to create a focused, scaled platform of globally recognised home care brands that operate in attractive categories.

“We are confident we can build on the portfolio’s strong foundations to drive operational excellence and unlock the brands’ full potential.”

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