Pfizer offloads $3.9 billion stake in Sensodyne-maker Haleon
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Pfizer company logo is seen at a Pfizer office in Puurs, Belgium, December 2, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo
(Reuters) – Haleon said on Tuesday top shareholder Pfizer (NYSE:) offloaded a roughly $3.9 billion stake in the consumer healthcare firm, bringing down its holding in the British company to 22.6%.
Pfizer previously held a 32% stake, followed by second-largest shareholder GSK which has a 4.2% holding.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
This is Pfizer’s first stake sale in Haleon since the company was spun off from GSK and listed in 2022 – three years after its formation by combing the pharma giants’ consumer healthcare units. Pfizer said last year it planned to cut its ownership in a “slow and methodical” manner within months.
Meanwhile, GSK, which initially held a 12.9% stake, has sold it down over the last year, with the last sale in January.
BY THE NUMBERS
Pfizer sold 594 million shares at a price of 3.08 pounds apiece and about 196.5 million American Depository Shares (ADS) at $7.85 each, which add up to roughly $3.9 billion.
This is higher than the 630 million share sale Haleon had disclosed on Monday. The maker of Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil painkillers said it would also repurchase 315 million pounds worth of shares from Pfizer off-market.
WHAT’S NEXT
The stake sale and the buyback is expected to close on March 21 and Pfizer’s shares will be subject to a 90-day lock-up period, in connection with the sale.
($1 = 0.7872 pounds)
