- The FTSE 100 drugmaker has sold its latest tranche of shares worth £1.3bn.
GSK has finally completed the sale of its stake in Haleon, a consumer health subsidiary, after selling a further £1.3bn of shares.
The FTSE 100 pharmaceutical company, which spun Haleon out of the FTSE 100 pharmaceutical company in July 2022, initially retained a 12.9 per cent stake after its IPO.
After selling its shares, it has raised a total of around £3.9 billion.
GSK said in a brief statement this morning: “GSK’s exit from its position in Haleon is consistent with its previous commitments to monetize its stake in a disciplined manner.”
Haleon makes consumer health brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol pain relievers.
Haleon’s IPO marked one of the biggest debuts on the London stock market in more than a decade, raising £30.5bn, disappointing some backers as it fell well short of the £50bn enterprise value. offered by Unilever and rejected by GSK before its IPO.
The spin-off was a key element of a turnaround strategy spearheaded by GSK boss Emma Walmsley, who planned to shift its focus to medicines and vaccines and boost its flagging share price amid pressure from investors.
Rival Pfizer is also selling its stake in Haelon to fund shareholder returns and reduce debts incurred from its $43 billion acquisition of biotech company Seagen.
Pfizer’s stake fell from 32 per cent to 24 per cent in March, following the £3bn share sale.
GSK has recently seen a commercial boost driven by strong demand for its vaccines against shingles and common respiratory viruses.
Earlier this month, the drugmaker raised its forecast for annual core operating profit growth to between 9 percent and 11 percent after posting sales of £7.4 billion in the first quarter.
Haleon, by contrast, saw its first-quarter trading hit by a much milder cold and flu season, which limited demand for brands such as ibuprofen, as well as currency difficulties.
The company has been selling some brands in an effort to simplify its portfolio and reduce net debts, which fell by more than £2bn in the first 18 months after its spin-off.
GSK shares They were down 1 percent at 1,766 pence in early trading on Friday, keeping 2024 gains at 19.4 percent.
haleon stock They fell 0.3 percent to 331.3 pence, having added 2.4 percent since the beginning of the year. They are up just 4.8 percent since going public.
