7th May 2020 09:23
(Alliance News) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC on Thursday said is has agreed to sell its entire stake in Hindustan Unilever Ltd for more than originally expected after divesting its Horlicks and Consumer Healthcare nutrition products in India.
The pharmaceuticals company completed the divestment to Unilever PLC, a deal which involved merging Glaxo's India-listed entity GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Ltd with Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
As a consequence of the merger, Glaxo acquired a 133.8 million share or a 5.7% stake in Hindustan Unilever, which it now has sold for around INR1,905 per share - approximately GBP20.27.
When it first announced the Horlicks divestment back in December 2018, Glaxo was expecting GBP3.1 billion of gross proceeds from the deal and net proceeds of about GBP2.4 billion after hedging costs, tax, and other expenses.
However, as Hindustan Unilever's share price has appreciated since then, gross proceeds of the divestment are expected to be GBP3.4 billion and net proceeds to be GBP2.9 billion including proceeds from closing of the deal and expected proceeds from selling its Bangladesh business later this in 2020.
Shares in Glaxo were up 0.1% at 1,699.20 pence in London on Thursday morning. Unilever's shares were marginally lower at 4,017.00p.
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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