Consumer-goods giant Kimberly-Clark Corp. announced Monday a deal to buy Kenvue Inc., ending months of speculation about the future of the embattled maker of Tylenol, Band-Aid and Listerine.

Huggies maker Kimberly-Clark announced Monday it will buy Tylenol’s parent company Kenvue in a nearly $50 billion deal, creating a massive consumer products conglomerate.

Investor concern over the merger may stem in part from Kenvue's potential legal exposure to hundreds of private lawsuits alleging it hid supposed links between Tylenol and autism or attention deficit...