Financial News

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Reckitt Benckiser on Tuesday announced its purchase of the LiceMD shampoo brand from Combe.

LiceMD is a pesticide-free treatment that helps control lice outbreaks with dimethicone, an effective synthetic lubricant with a well-known safety profile that is odorless, nonirritating and hypoallergenic, the company said.

LOS ANGELES — IBISWorld predicted Valentine's Day will boost retail sales in a new report.

The independent market and research firm said that consumers are expected to spend 5.8% more on Valentine’s Day purchases this year than last year, totaling $18.6 billion, or about $125 per person.

Big gains will be seen across all categories, especially in such staples as greeting cards and candy, which are projected to grow 4.9% and 5.1%, respectively.

NEW YORK — Supermarket giant Royal Ahold, which operates under five banners in the United States, reported that U.S. customers' continued focus on value drove its sales.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Cough-cold supplier Matrixx on Thursday credited tough comparisons against the prior season’s high pre-season inventory purchases by retailers due to the publicity of the H1N1 flu outbreak for the lower level of sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010.

The company reported net sales of $20.3 million, down 29%. However, a lift in late December cough-cold illness rates holds promise for the second half of the season.

NEW YORK — Generic drug maker Watson Pharmaceuticals expects sales of $4.2 billion for 2011, the company said Friday.

The company expected the forecasted sales for the year to include between $2.8 billion and $3 billion in global generics sales, compared with around $2.35 billion in 2010. Total sales for 2010 were around $3.5 billion, according to preliminary financial results released last week.

SALISBURY, N.C. — Delhaize Group on Thursday said that while its U.S. revenues dropped 1% to $18.8 billion, the retail conglomerate hopes to keep its business afloat by going forward with its New Game Plan.

ALLEGAN, Mich. — Perrigo will buy Paddock Labs for more than half a billion dollars, Perrigo said Thursday.

Perrigo, an Allegan, Mich.-based company that makes generic prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including private-label products, announced that it would buy Minneapolis-based Paddock for $540 million in cash.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Matrixx Initiatives on Friday provided a summary of the ongoing "go-shop" process initiated by the company after Wonder Holdings proposed a merger agreement. The “go-shop” process is scheduled to run through Jan. 22.