Reckitt Benckiser launches rival bid to buy Schiff Nutrition

Reckitt Benckiser has commenced a tender offer to acquire leading vitamin, minerals and supplements (VMS) company Schiff Nutrition International worth $1.4 billion (880.24 million pounds).

The bid has been launched in an effort to gazump the takeover deal announced by Bayer HealthCare last month, which was valued at $1.2 billion and agreed by the leaders of both Bayer and Schiff.

Reckitt Benckiser will be entering into talks to close a merger deal similar to the one it has in place with Bayer and hopes to convince Schiff to accept its offer instead before the end of the year.

Purchasing Schiff would give Reckitt Benckiser to a product portfolio including brands such as MegaRed, Move Free and Airborne.

This would give the firm a powerful means of establishing itself in the lucrative VMS market, which is worth around $30 billion.

Rakesh Kapoor, Reckitt Benckiser's chief executive officer, said: "We firmly believe that our entrepreneurial and consumer-focused mindset, our infrastructure, speed and scale, combined with Schiff's leading brand portfolio, will generate sustained value for our shareholders."