Procter & Gamble, Kao to Bid for Clairol

Procter & Gamble Co. and Japan’s Kao Corp. will bid for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Clairol hair-care unit, which Bristol-Myers said last year it planned to sell, people close to the matter told Bloomberg News. Bristol-Myers is expected to get $4 billion to $5 billion for Clairol. Linda Ulrey, spokeswoman for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble, said the company doesn’t comment on speculation. New York-based Bristol-Myers spokesman Charles Borgognoni declined to comment. Procter & Gamble, the largest U.S. maker of household products, began a test last year of its first hair color, under the Vidal Sassoon brand, in Britain. The company is the top U.S. seller of shampoos and conditioners with the Pantene and Head & Shoulders lines. Tokyo-based Kao, Japan’s largest household products maker, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.