Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) sold a stake in British consumer healthcare group Haleon (NYSE: HLN) worth about $3.26 billion on Monday, cutting its shareholding in the maker of Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol and Advil painkillers to 15% from 22.6%.
Shares in Haleon, which was created by the merger of GSK (NYSE: GSK) and Pfizer’s consumer healthcare businesses in 2019 and spun off from the British drugmaker in 2022, fell 1.2% to 388 pence in morning trade on Tuesday.
The Pfizer shares were placed at 380 pence each, a discount of 3.3% to Haleon’s last closing price.
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), which remains the largest shareholder in Haleon following the sale, had said last year that it planned to cut its ownership in a “slow and methodical” manner within months.
The U.S. drug giant had intended to sell about 540 million shares in Haleon, a bookrunner on the deal said late on Monday, adding this was raised 100 million shares due to strong demand.
Haleon (NYSE: HLN) separately confirmed it would buy about 60.5 million of its shares from Pfizer at the same price for a total of 230 million pounds ($307.4 million).
BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs International acted as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners on the sale.
Pfizer sold about $3.5 billion worth of Haleon shares in March, with GSK disposing of its entire stake in May.
In August, Haleon forecast high single-digit growth in organic operating profit in 2024 amid strong demand for its oral care products and vitamins.
($1 = 0.7463 pounds)
(Source: ReutersReuters)
Haleon NYSE: HLN NYSE: PFE Pfizer
