Brussels, 09/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has approved the purchase of Boots Healthcare International (BHI) by its fellow British company, Reckitt Benckiser. Reckitt Benckiser is active in household products, such as fabric care, dishwashing and homecare products, and in health and personal care, with brands such as Lemsip, Dettol, Gaviscon and Veet, areas in which BHI is also active. BHI manufactures and sells over the counter (OTC) medicines on a worldwide basis, with well-known brands like Nurofen (analgesics), Strepsils (medicated throat confectionery) and Clearasil (anti-acne treatment). After examination, the Commission decided that the parties' activities overlap in a small number of OTC medicines markets: non narcotics and pyretics in the United Kingdom and Ireland, throat preparations in the United Kingdom, antiseptics and disinfectants in Belgium and the Netherlands, cold and flu preparations in the United Kingdom and Ireland, laxatives in the United Kingdom and intimate hygiene products in France. For six of these markets, the Commission concluded that there would not be a significant impediment to effective competition, and, for the three others, it concluded that there were other important competitors present with strong brands, such as Viatris in antiseptics and disinfectants in the Netherlands and GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer in cold treatments in the United Kingdom and Ireland.