Pfizer will continue shrinking its ownership in the British consumer health company Haleon, according to an announcement Monday on the London Stock Exchange.
The New York drugmaker said it plans to sell 540 million shares in Haleon, which was formed after combining Pfizer and GSK’s consumer health units. The share sale will downsize Pfizer’s stake in Haleon to about 16.2% from 22.6%. The large pharma had sold more than 600 million shares in the spring, and GSK said in May it would sell off the rest of its stake.
In May 2023, Pfizer said it would undergo a “slow and methodical” exit from Haleon.
The latest share sale is worth about £2.1 billion (or $2.8 billion) based on Monday’s closing price, Bloomberg reported. Haleon’s share price on the London Stock Exchange closed down almost 1% on Monday. Pfizer is going through a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting program.
Haleon, which makes Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil among other products, also said on Monday it agreed to buy about £230 million worth of shares from Pfizer. Meanwhile, on Friday, Haleon said it was increasing its equity stake in a China joint venture. Earlier in the summer, it had sold off its ex-US nicotine replacement therapy business to Dr. Reddy’s for a total of £500 million, or about $630 million.
On Pfizer’s second-quarter earnings call in July, CFO Dave Denton said once the company’s ownership in Haleon is below 20%, “our accounting will transition from recording equity income and will no longer be included in our adjusted results.”