Healthcare major GSK (NYSE:GSK) has raised nearly $1.24 billion by offloading a partial stake in Haleon (NYSE:HLN). This discounted sale reduces GSK’s ownership in Haleon to 4.2%, according to Reuters.
The company sold about 300 million Haleon shares at 325 pence per share. Haleon is the largest standalone consumer healthcare company globally. According to ETPharma, GSK has now disposed of Haleon shares for the third time in less than a year. The latter was formed by combining the consumer health units of GSK and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) in 2019. Pfizer, however, still holds a 32% stake in Haleon.
The stake sales are expected to help GSK maintain a focus on vaccines and infectious diseases and undertake M & A activity to enhance its drug pipeline. Last week, GSK announced the acquisition of Aiolos Bio in a $1.4 billion deal. The acquisition is anticipated to boost GSK’s respiratory biologics portfolio with the addition of AIO-001, a phase 2-ready drug candidate targeted for the treatment of asthma.
Is GSK a Good Stock to Buy?
Overall, the Street has a Moderate Buy consensus rating on GSK. After a nearly 12% rise in the company’s share price over the past year, the average GSK price target of $37.96 implies a potential downside of 4.8% in the stock.
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