Following GSK’s lead, Pfizer plans to lower its interest in Haleon from 32% to approximately 24%, with the sale of 630 million ordinary shares in the consumer healthcare spinoff.
Pictured: Sign at Pfizer’s headquarters in New York/iStock, JHVEPhoto
Pfizer is lowering its stake in the consumer health spinoff company Haleon, which makes Sensodyne toothpaste and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug Advil, selling around 630 million shares, according to Haleon’s announcement Monday.
Reuters reported that the transaction will net Pfizer over $2.5 billion and will lower the pharma’s stake in the consumer health company from 32% to approximately 24%. Haleon entered a share purchase deed with Pfizer in April 2023. The deal gave Haleon the ability to make “certain off-market purchases” to acquire shares from Pfizer.
“In connection with the Global Offer and subject to satisfaction of the conditions set out in the Share Purchase Deed, Haleon has agreed to repurchase from Pfizer, and Pfizer has agreed to sell to Haleon off-market, Ordinary Shares having an aggregate purchase price of approximately £315 million (approximately $400 million) at the same time as, or immediately following and on the same day as, the completion of the Global Offer,” the company said.
Pfizer’s selloff comes as GSK sold around 300 million Haleon shares in January 2024, raising $1.24 billion in the process. GSK started selling shares at two points in 2023, pulling in $1.1 billion in October and $1 billion in May. The company now holds a 4.2% stake in Haleon.
Pfizer and GSK first hatched the idea to partner and form a consumer health company in 2018, with the creation of Haleon in 2022. At the time, the joint venture was predicted to bring in around $46 billion in annual sales by 2031 and generate 10% profit over five years. The company also carried over $12 billion worth of debt as it listed on the London exchange.
However, in 2022, as the demerger was happening with GSK, Pfizer decided to sell a part of its holdings in Haleon once the spinoff occurred, bringing down its stake to 32%. Now, that interest has been reduced to 24%.
Last year, Johnson & Johnson completed the spinoff of its consumer health business Kenvue, from which it made $13.2 billion in an exchange offer that allowed shareholders to trade in their J&J shares for Kenvue shares.
Tyler Patchen is a staff writer at BioSpace. You can reach him at tyler.patchen@biospace.com. Follow him on LinkedIn.
