Pfizer offloads $3.9bn stake in Sensodyne maker Haleon

Bengaluru — Haleon said on Tuesday top shareholder Pfizer offloaded a roughly $3.9bn 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 combining 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 past year, with the last sale in January.

By the numbers

Pfizer sold 594-million shares at a price of £3.08 apiece and about 196.5-million American depositary shares at $7.85 each, which add up to about  $3.9bn. 

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 £315m 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.

Reuters