New York, February 13, 2026, 07:23 EST — Premarket
Kenvue Inc (KVUE) shares edged up 0.2% to $18.55 before the bell Friday, following news in an 8-K filing that CFO Amit Banati is leaving in May. Banati, who’ll exit May 12, is set to take a CEO job elsewhere. Kenvue said an interim principal financial officer will be named.
Timing is critical here: Kenvue’s share price is directly linked to Kimberly-Clark under the terms of their ongoing deal. The merger agreement gives Kenvue holders 0.14625 Kimberly-Clark shares and $3.50 in cash per Kenvue share. That combo works out to roughly $19.33, using Kimberly-Clark’s premarket price of $108.26.
The deal still needs regulatory sign-off, and both sides don’t expect to wrap things up until the back half of 2026. Kenvue, known for Tylenol, Listerine, and Neutrogena, along with Kimberly-Clark, confirmed shareholders gave the acquisition the green light on Jan. 29. Kenvue CEO Kirk Perry said they’re “remain confident” about what the combined companies could achieve. 1
Banati is set to take the reins at Fortune Brands Innovations, the company said Thursday, stepping in as chief executive officer on May 13. Board chair Susan Kilsby has the interim CEO job during the changeover. Kilsby called Banati a leader with “strategic clarity” and “operational rigor.” 2
Kenvue isn’t slowing down on launches. This week, its Neutrogena brand rolled out Evenly Clear—a six-item adult-acne range created with dermatologists Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali and Dr. Muneeb Shah. Neutrogena’s global brand lead Chris Riat pointed to an “accessible price point” paired with clinical backing. 3
For traders, the CFO switch hits a delicate point—finance teams are typically in charge of the controls and filings that keep a merger moving. Executive changes aren’t unusual. Still, they can push the spread between a target’s share price and what the buyer’s stock says it’s worth even wider.
KVUE watchers will probably be focused on stability in the short run—mainly, how fast the company names a successor for the finance post, and who lands it—rather than any splashy announcement. Since stock is part of the deal, the spread also shifts when Kimberly-Clark’s shares move, regardless of whether anything fresh comes out from Kenvue.
Kenvue plans to release its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 numbers after the bell on Feb. 17. The company won’t hold its usual quarterly call, citing the pending deal with Kimberly-Clark. 4
