GSK Plc is looking to raise about £900 million ($1.1 billion) from a sale of shares in Haleon Plc, the consumer-health business it spun off last year.
(Bloomberg) — GSK Plc is looking to raise about £900 million ($1.1 billion) from a sale of shares in Haleon Plc, the consumer-health business it spun off last year.
The British drug company is selling 270 million shares, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News. The shares are being marketed with reference to the stock’s closing price of 336.25 pence on Thursday, the terms showed.
The sale represents about a quarter of GSK’s remaining stake in Haleon, the maker of Aquafresh toothpaste and Panadol, leaving the group with a 7.4% position.
Haleon was originally formed from a combination of GSK’s and Pfizer Inc.’s consumer health units.
GSK decided to separate Haleon so it could better focus on its pharma and vaccines business. Headed by Chief Executive Officer Emma Walmsley, GSK is trying to strengthen its drug pipeline, with a recent success on a vaccine against RSV, a common virus that can be deadly.
The spinoff aimed at strengthening the prospects of both GSK and Haleon following pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management.
Since the spinoff, GSK has said that it intended to treat its stake in Haleon like a financial investment, using proceeds raised to strengthen its balance sheet and help support its aim to improve its drug pipeline.
The stake sale comes less than six months after GSK offloaded about £804 million ($978 million) worth of Haleon stock. Pfizer has also indicated it will gradually sell down its stake in Haleon as part of its move to focus on pharma innovations.
Accelerated offerings are typically priced at a discount to entice shareholders to buy into the deal. Haleon shares have risen about 9% since it started trading in July 2022.
Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc. are global coordinators on the offering. The banks gathered demand in excess of the offering size within minutes of putting the block on the market, according to terms seen by Bloomberg.
(Updates with additional information)
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