Jan 19, 2022
Unilever says it will not raise £50bn bid for GSK unit
Unilever has said it will not increase its £50bn offer for GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health business, drawing a line under an ambitious plan that sparked a fierce backlash from investors. "We note the recently shared financial assumptions from the current owners of GSK Consumer Healthcare and have determined that it does not change our view on fundamental value," Unilever said on Wednesday. The consumer goods group had made three separate bids to acquire the business, which makes Aquafresh and Sensodyne toothpaste and Advil and Nurofen painkillers, late last year, with the third, mostly cash offer totalling £50bn. GSK rebuffed the bids for the business, in which US pharmaceutical group Pfizer owns a 32 per cent stake. After news of the bids were revealed over the weekend, Unilever suggested on Monday that it would continue attempting to buy the unit, calling it a "Strong strategic fit". Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said earlier on Wednesday that the GSK Consumer Healthcare acquisition would be unlikely to pass a shareholder vote.
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