British drugmaker GSK on Friday sold 240 million shares in its consumer healthcare business Haleon at 335 pence per share, raising about £804 million (€1.15 billion), the company said.
Haleon, the world's biggest standalone consumer health company, comprising assets from GSK and Pfizer, sells non-prescription drugs, vitamins and oral care products.
The sale price represents a 2.3% discount to Haleon's closing price of 342.85 pence on Thursday and lowers the stake of GSK, the second-largest shareholder, to 10.3%.
Haleon shares rose 2.2% to 350.5 pence in early trade while GSK gained 1.3%.
In October of last year, Haleon NEXT, the disruptive innovation arm of global consumer health company Haleon, announced the third cohort of its programme aimed at supporting upcoming companies in collaboration with Re/Wire Health Studio.
Quarterly Performance
Haleon last week reported quarterly profit below expectations, citing higher costs that squeezed margins.
Commenting on Haleon's performance, Russ Mould of AJ Bell said, “Consumer health firm and recent GSK spin-off Haleon came under pressure as earnings missed expectations amid a squeeze on margins.
Sensodyne maker Haleon was formed in July 2019 with the merger of GSK and Pfizer's consumer healthcare businesses. It was spun out and listed on the London Stock Exchange in July 2022.
GSK and Pfizer have agreed to not sell any further Haleon shares for 60 days.
Pfizer told the Financial Times newspaper last week that it intends to offload its stake in a 'slow and methodical' manner within months.
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