GlaxoSmithKline preps shareholders for buyout of 36.5% Novartis stake in GSK Consumer Healthcare - report
GlaxoSmithKline [LON:GSK] has been preparing its shareholders for a buyout of the 36.5% stake in GSK Consumer Healthcare owned by its Swiss joint venture partner Novartis [VTX:NOVN], The Sunday Times reported.
An option for Novartis to sell its interest in the over-the-counter drug JV back to GSK will come into effect in March next year and major GSK investors say they are being readied to expect such a transaction, for which GSK has set aside GBP 8bn (USD 10bn) in its accounts.
One unidentified GSK shareholder quoted in the piece said the company has always been clear it wants to owns the consumer JV and will make its move at the apposite time.
Recent market chatter has speculated that Novartis may utilise the proceeds to try and merge with UK-based biopharma group AstraZeneca [LON:AZN], the report said.
GSK currently has a market capitalisation of just under GBP 82bn, the item noted.
The original report appeared in The Sunday Times, Business & Money section, page 1