Pfizer offloads final shares in Sensodyne maker Haleon

US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer has sold off its remaining stake in Sensodyne and Panadol maker Haleon for around £2.5 billion.

Haleon has agreed to buy back 44 million shares from Pfizer for £3.85 a share – totalling about £170 million – as part of the deal, with the remaining 618 million shares being sold to institutional investors.

It sees Pfizer exit its investment in the UK consumer healthcare firm after the US group said in 2023 that it planned to reduce its holding gradually.

Haleon was formed in 2019 by the merger of the consumer healthcare businesses of British pharmaceutical group GSK and US rival Pfizer, sitting as a joint venture within GSK.

It was then spun out of GSK as a standalone business and listed on the London Stock Exchange in July 2022.

GSK initially retained a 12.9% stake in Haleon after the flotation, but offloaded its holding completely in May 2024 when it sold its last remaining shares for £1.2 billion.

Pfizer had been left with a 7.3% stake in Haleon until the remaining stake sale.

BlackRock Investment Management now becomes Haleon’s biggest shareholder, with a stake of more than 5% following the share sale by Pfizer.

Haleon said the move to buy shares from Pfizer will make up some of its planned £500 million in share buybacks this year, which were announced on February 27.

Brian McNamara, chief executive of Haleon, said: “Today’s transaction is an important milestone for the business and marks Pfizer fully exiting its stake in Haleon, having been at 32% at the time of demerger in July 2022.

“Our participation in the offering is consistent with our disciplined capital allocation priorities, and supports our commitment to deliver attractive returns for shareholders, underpinned by a strong investment grade balance sheet.

“Nearly three years on from demerger, Haleon is in a position of strength and is well placed to capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead.”