(Reuters) -British drugmaker GSK on Friday said it raised 885.6 million pounds ($1.08 billion) from a stake sale in Haleon, bringing down its shareholding to 7.4% in the world’s largest standalone consumer healthcare firm.
The sale of 270 million shares at 328 pence apiece, represented a discount of about 2.5% to Haleon’s last close of 336.25 pence on Thursday.
GSK earlier this year sold 240 million shares in Haleon to raise about 804 million pounds ($1 billion), and lowered its stake to 10.3% from 12.9% it initially retained in the business.
Haleon was formed in 2019 through a merger of GSK and Pfizer’s consumer healthcare businesses. It was spun out and listed on the London Stock Exchange in July 2022.
Pfizer, which holds a 32% stake in Haleon, said in May it plans to cut its ownership in a “slow and methodical” manner within months.
($1 = 0.8216 pounds)
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
