P&G to Acquire Gillette for $57 Billion

The merger, which must still be approved by regulators and shareholders, would create a company with revenues of more than $60 billion that would have even greater clout against mass-market retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which have been pressuring consumer product suppliers to keep costs low.

Executives from both companies made their case for the merger in a presentation Friday to Wall Street analysts, saying the combination would bring together the marketing and distribution strengths of P&G, whose products are marketed largely to women, together with Gillette's high-profit brands like razors, which are marketed to mainly men.