GSK raises USD 1 billion selling shares in Haleon Consumer Spinoff: Bloomberg

The UK pharma group sold 240 million shares at 335 pence, a 2.3% discount to the Thursday closing price.

The sale represents 2.5% of Haleon’s total shares and was conducted via a placing to institutional investors. It lowers GSK’s stake in the maker of Sensodyne toothpaste and Tums digestive aids to 10.3%, according to a statement Friday.

The move comes just a few days after Pfizer Inc., which holds about 32% of Haleon, said it is also preparing to sell down its stake in the coming months. The US drug company said the stake in the British company was no longer a strategic asset.

Read also: Pfizer plan to sell its Haleon stake is not surprise: Consumer health company Finance chief

Haleon was originally formed from a combination of GSK’s and Pfizer’s consumer health units.

GSK decided to separate Haleon so it could better focus on its pharma and vaccines business. Headed by Chief Executive Officer Emma Walmsley, GSK has for the last few years faced questions about the strength of its drug pipeline, although it has had recent success with a vaccine against RSV, a common virus that can be deadly.

Since the spinoff, GSK has said that it intended to treat its stake in Haleon like a financial investment. It has also said proceeds raised from any share sales will be used to strengthen its balance sheet, bolster its UK pension program and help support its aim to improve its drug pipeline.

Pfizer indicated when Haleon was spun out of GSK that it intended to exit eventually as part of its move to focus on pharma innovations.

Haleon reported a nearly 35% jump in operating profit in a first-quarter update this month, after achieving growth in nearly all of its categories, even as it increased prices by 7.1% across a range of brands