Prestige buying Dramamine brand

Prestige Brands Holdings Inc. will acquire the Dramamine brand, the nation”™s top-selling over-the-counter motion sickness remedy, in a $76 million cash transaction with McNeil-PPC Inc., a division of Johnson & Johnson. The deal is expected to close in January.

Dramamine”™s market share is estimated at about 32 percent, according to officials at Prestige Brands headquarters in Irvington. The deal follows the company”™s $190-million acquisition of Tarrytown-based Blacksmith Brands Holdings Inc. and its portfolio of five leading over-the-counter health and personal care brands.

“Dramamine represents a continuation of our strategy to acquire OTC brands that are broadly recognized by consumers, are important to retailers and have strong positions in their categories,” Prestige Brands CEO Matthew Mannelly said in a prepared statement.