Reckitt Targets Mead Johnson With Surprise $16.7 Billion Bid

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc emerged as a surprise suitor for perennial bid candidate Mead Johnson Nutrition Co., starting talks on a $16.7 billion purchase of the baby food maker to build its faster growing consumer-health business and bolster its presence in Asia. The maker of Lysol cleaners said late Wednesday it’s in advanced negotiations to acquire the U.S. company for $90 a share in cash in what would be the second-biggest acquisition by a U.K. company since the Brexit vote.