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Drugmaker Pfizer has sold its entire stake in consumer healthcare firm Haleon for approximately 2.5 billion pounds (roughly $3.24 billion), according to sources involved in the transaction.
The deal was executed at a price of 385 pence per share, with institutional investors and Haleon purchasing the shares.
Under the agreement, Haleon – known for brands such as Sensodyne, Panadol, and Advil – will buy back 44 million shares from Pfizer, which was its largest shareholder, while 618 million shares are being sold to institutional investors. This sale represents 7.3% of Haleon’s issued share capital. Haleon was established following the merger of GSK and Pfizer's consumer healthcare businesses in 2019 and was spun off from the British drugmaker in 2022.
Following Pfizer’s divestiture, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Ltd, a unit of BlackRock, is set to become Haleon’s largest shareholder, holding more than a 5% stake, according to data compiled by LSEG. The deal was coordinated by a team that includes BofA Securities, Citigroup Global Markets Limited, and Goldman Sachs International as joint global coordinators, with Barclays and Deutsche Numis acting as joint bookrunners.
Earlier, GSK – which initially held nearly a 13% stake in Haleon – completed its full exit in May 2024. Haleon, which also manufactures popular painkillers, indicated in February that its revenue and profit growth in 2025 would be weighted towards the second half of the year.
The divestiture underscores Pfizer's strategic decision to refocus its portfolio while enabling Haleon to consolidate its shareholder base as it continues to drive growth in the competitive consumer healthcare market.
Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday (12 December), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The JMA had earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The United States issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela on Thursday, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.
The resignation of Bulgaria's government on Thursday (11 December) puts an end to an increasingly unpopular coalition but is likely to usher in a period of prolonged political instability on the eve of the Black Sea nation's entry into the euro zone.
An extratropical cyclone has caused widespread disruption across Brazil’s São Paulo state, with powerful winds toppling trees and power lines, blocking streets and leaving large parts of the region without electricity.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% following its two-day policy meeting, according to an official statement issued on Wednesday, 10 December.
China has carried out a major test of a new “super wireless” rail convoy, a technology that could reshape the future of heavy-haul transport.
Paramount Skydance (PSKY.O) has launched a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O). The escalation follows a high-stakes battle that had appeared to end last week when Netflix secured a $72 billion deal for the studio giant’s assets.
U.S. industrial production rose by 0.1% in September, rebounding after a decline in August, while capacity utilisation remained unchanged, according to Federal Reserve data on Wednesday.
Google’s YouTube has announced a “disappointing update” for millions of Australian users and creators, confirming it will comply with the country’s world-first ban on social media access for under-16s by locking affected users out of their accounts within days.
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