Words by EMJ GOLD newsdesk
Pfizer has announced plans to sell its remaining stake in Haleon plc, divesting approximately 662 million shares (7.3% of Haleon’s total share capital). This move marks Pfizer’s complete exit from the consumer healthcare business, finalising a separation that began when Haleon was spun off from GSK in 2022.
According to the London Stock Exchange, the sale will take place through an accelerated bookbuilding process, targeting institutional investors. While Pfizer will retain all proceeds, Haleon itself will not financially benefit from the transaction. However, as part of a separate agreement, Haleon will buy back approximately £170m worth of shares, ensuring a smoother transition in ownership while supporting liquidity.
Haleon was created when GSK demerged its consumer healthcare business, consolidating GSK’s and Pfizer’s consumer health divisions. At its 2022 London Stock Exchange listing, Pfizer—initially holding a 32% stake—chose to gradually divest rather than remain a long-term investor.
This strategy reflects a broader industry shift away from consumer health and toward high-growth areas such as oncology and rare diseases, where returns on investment are stronger, and innovation drives market expansion. A similar trend can be seen in Johnson & Johnson’s 2023 spin-off of its consumer health business, Kenvue, allowing the company to sharpen its focus on advanced therapeutics.
Pfizer is actively advancing this approach. Its 43bn (USD) acquisition of Seagen bolsters its oncology pipeline, while the 5.4bn (USD) purchase of Global Blood Therapeutics strengthens its rare disease portfolio. Notably, Pfizer’s acquisition of Seagen is among the largest in the biopharma industry since AbbVie’s 63bn (USD) purchase of Allergan in 2019.
