Colgate Weighs $1 Billion Sale of Soap and Deodorant Brands

Softsoap, Irish Spring and Speed Stick could soon have a new owner, as Colgate-Palmolive weighs selling a collection of mass-market personal care brands in a process that may raise more than $1 billion.

The New York consumer-products company is working with Goldman Sachs on the review, according to people familiar with the matter. Colgate and Goldman Sachs declined to comment, and no deal is guaranteed. The company is considering only selected brands, not a sale of its entire personal care operation.

That distinction matters. Personal care generated 17% of Colgate-Palmolive’s worldwide sales in 2025, or roughly $3.5 billion, and includes soaps, deodorants, shower gels and skin-care products. The division also houses Palmolive, Protex, Sanex, EltaMD, Filorga and PCA SKIN, among others.

Colgate’s portfolio has long been built around breadth. Now breadth may be working against it. A buyer could acquire recognizable brands with established retail distribution, while Colgate frees marketing dollars and management attention for businesses it considers more defensible, particularly oral care and pet nutrition.

The pressure is most visible in North America. Second-quarter sales in the region fell 3% to $891 million, while volume dropped 3.9%. Colgate said the organic-sales decline was driven in part by weakness in bar soap and body wash, categories directly connected to the brands under review. Operating profit still rose 3% to $192 million, helped by cost savings and pricing, but the sales trend remains difficult to ignore.

Chief Executive Noel Wallace has described the North American turnaround as a long-term effort, with heightened competition forcing the company to sharpen its category and channel strategy. A divestiture would fit that approach, turning slower-growth labels into cash that could support innovation, advertising or shareholder returns.

The timing also reflects a broader consumer-goods reset. Large packaged-food and household-products companies are trimming sprawling portfolios as shoppers trade down, retailers demand more support and input costs remain unpredictable. Brand sales are attractive when management can monetize mature assets without abandoning the categories altogether.

For Colgate investors, the immediate question is less whether Softsoap or Speed Stick are familiar names than whether the company can secure a price that reflects their distribution power without signaling deeper weakness in personal care.