The founders of Harry's are speaking out after a conglomerate that agreed to buy it for $1.4 billion pulled out of the deal to avoid a government fight

Harry's

Harry's cofounders and co-CEOs Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield.

• Edgewell, a conglomerate of shaving and skincare companies, pulled out of an agreement to buy rival Harry's.
• Edgewell made the move after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the acquisition on antitrust grounds last week.
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The people who work at shaving upstart Harry's just lost their $1.4 billion payout.

Edgewell, a conglomerate of shaving and skincare companies, has pulled out of an agreement to buy rival Harry's to avoid a costly court battle with the government.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the acquisition by Edgwell on antitrust grounds, arguing that the deal would neutralize one of the most successful challengers in a market that's already highly concentrated. Edgewell and its much larger rival, Proctor & Gamble, Gillette's owner, have dominated the wet shave razor market for decades.

Edgewell said in a statement on Monday that it would end its bid to buy Harry's to avoid losing the time and resources "that a continuing court battle would entail."

Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield, the cofounders and co-chief executive officers of Harry's, expressed their frustration on Monday that Edgewell's board would back down from the deal.

"We believe we would have prevailed in litigation, and are disappointed by the decision by Edgewell's board not to see this process to its conclusion," they said in a joint statement. They also criticized regulators for their "disregard of the facts."

You can read their full comment below.

Edgewell, which has a market value of $2 billion, said in a statement that Harry's has said it plans to pursue litigation against it. A spokeswoman for Harry's would not comment on a potential suit.

The deal would have paid Harry's shareholders nearly $1.1 billion in cash and $285 million in Edgewell common shares, which employees could have sold on the public markets. The shaving upstart has less than 500 employees, according to a count of people who named it as their employer on LinkedIn.

Read Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield's full statement:

"We continue to be perplexed by the FTC's process and disregard of the facts. We know the merger would have benefited consumers greatly. We believe we would have prevailed in litigation, and are disappointed by the decision by Edgewell's board not to see this process to its conclusion. We are also proud of what we've built at Harry's and we are stronger than ever; we're growing, profitable, well capitalized and excited about the opportunities ahead for our business. Moving forward, we will continue to do what we do best: develop, manufacture and sell exceptional products at an honest price, and always put our customers first."

Do you work at Harry's and want to share your story? Contact this reporter using a non-work device by email at mrussell@businessinsider.com or Twitter DM at @meliarobin. Message for Signal.

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