GSK sells off remaining stake in Haleon

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GSK has sold its remaining stake in Haleon, the consumer healthcare company it spun off and listed in London in July 2022, raising £1.25bn and underscoring how pharmaceutical groups are streamlining their businesses to focus on high-value drugs.

The sale of the 4.2 per cent stake marks the end of the FTSE 100 company’s links to the maker of Panadol painkillers and Sensodyne toothpaste.

GSK on Friday said it had sold more than 385mn shares at 324p a share, representing a 2.6 per cent discount to its closing price of 332.4p on Thursday.

The British pharmaceutical company’s exit from Haleon was anticipated. The group had made three previous stock disposals since May 2023, when it held 12.9 per cent of the spin-off’s shares. The company said its exit was “consistent with its previous commitments to monetise its holding in a disciplined manner.”

In total, stock disposals over the past year have helped GSK raise just under £4bn, which can be redirected to reducing debt or for mergers and acquisitions.

The listing and stock sale have come as pharmaceutical businesses seek to focus on developing new medicine that can be sold at high prices and cutting back on lower-earning divisions such as consumer healthcare.

Haleon was formed in 2019 as a joint venture of Pfizer and GSK’s consumer health assets. The decision to list the division in 2022 marked the largest public offering in London in a decade.

It came after years of pressure from shareholders, with activist investor Elliott Advisors building a stake in the UK drugmaker and pushing GSK to speed up the process.

Haleon has undertaken its own restructuring programme, taking steps to dispose of non-core brands, such as selling lip balm brand ChapStick to private equity group Yellow Wood Partners for $430mn.

GSK is not the only pharmaceutical company to take steps to streamline its business. France’s Sanofi is also preparing for a potential separation of its consumer healthcare division, while Johnson & Johnson spun out its consumer arm Kenvue in 2023.

Pfizer retained a 32 per cent stake in Haleon after its IPO and continues to hold an 18.3 per cent position. The US drugmaker has also reduced its stake in recent months and plans to eventually exit the company.