The embattled maker of Tylenol got some good news on Monday: Kimberly-Clark — the maker of Huggies, Kleenex, and Depend — announced plans to buy Kenvue, which makes and distributes Tylenol, as well as other name-brand products. The deal is reportedly valued at almost $50 billion.

Kimberly-Clark’s stock lost more than 14% on Monday, which is not a huge surprise. President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have said that pregnant women should not take Tylenol because it can cause autism. The claims are not scientifically proven. However, it has already led to lawsuits against Kenvue.

So why would a company want to merge with another that is actively facing litigation?

The announcement surprised Morningstar’s Kadyn Kim, who covers Kenvue. He said it’s potentially good news for stockholders.

“We think that given the recent struggle that Kenvue shares have seen, this kind of gives Kenvue investors, I guess, a near-term lifeline,” he said.

Kenvue has been through a lot since it spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, he said. Back then, analysts — himself included — “thought that the business could benefit from more of a streamlined approach and a more streamlined focus. But we think that the journey as a public entity, for Kenvue, has been challenged.”

Those challenges, Kim said, include a weaker consumer market and pending litigation. That litigation includes a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas for “deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers.”

Kenvue has called any links between Tylenol and autism “unfounded” and says “deeply concerned about the health risks and confusion this poses for expecting mothers and parents.” (Health experts agree.)

“It really is the 600-pound gorilla lurking in the corner of the room here,” said Eric Talley, law and business professor at Columbia University.

Kimberly-Clark is taking on risk — though it’s not a done deal yet. Regulators will likely review it, he said, and stockholders get a say, too.

“If things go really, really badly for Kenvue, then Kimberly-Clark's own stockholders may vote against this transaction and essentially cause it to get scuttled on their own accord,” Talley said.

There may be a group of investors who are OK with some risk, however, according to Paul Nary at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

They could argue that pending litigation and sales declines “are all just short-term and overblown,” he said. “And if anything, this creates an opportunity for Kenvue investors to make more money by either investing more money or for a company like Kimberly-Clark to acquire it at perhaps a discount.”

Another benefit of joining forces, the companies say? They’ve identified around $1.9 billion in cost savings.

Nary added that consumers may see the effects of the deal in cheaper or more innovative products — just probably not anytime soon. Deals this big just take time, he said.