Pfizer Left Holding Consumer Health Bag
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said it is continuing to weigh “strategical alternatives” for its consumer healthcare arm after the two perceived prime candidates to take over the business pulled out of the race.
Pfizer said it is still considering a sale but also eyeing a possible spin-off or even retaining the consumer business, which manufactures such brand-name products as Chapstick lip balm, Centrum vitamins and Seven Seas supplements. A decision is to be made sometime this year.
Late last week, both Reckitt Benckiser and GlaxoSmithKline, a day apart, said they were no longer interested in bidding as the stakes reached $20 billion. No other company is seen to keen to take the activities. Johnson & Johnson and Nestlé had pulled out at an earlier stage.
Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK, whose enthusiasm had already wavered in the past in the past, said the UK drugmaker would continue to review potential takeover opportunities, stressing that they “must meet our criteria for returns” and not jeopardize its commitment to paying shareholders a dividend.
Reckitt, which manufactures branded cleaning products in addition to over-the-counter drugs, said it had withdrawn from the running as it did not want to acquire the entire business and was unable to convince Pfizer to split it.
According to reports, Reckitt – also based in the UK – was primarily interested in acquiring the Advil pain relief brand. Some analysts said also that such an expensive deal might have taxed the company’s financial resources.
