GSK makes £425 million Aspen sale
pharmafile | November 21, 2013 | News story | Sales and Marketing | GSK, Merck, South Africa, aspen
GlaxoSmithKline has raised £425 million with the sale of 28.2 million shares that it has in Africa’s biggest drugmaker as part of a stated plan to cash in some of its investment.
GSK has not completely divested its interest in Aspen Pharmacare Holdings – this partial sale leaves it with a stake of 12.4% in the company – and it has always insisted it wants to carry on working with Aspen.
The UK firm wanted to sell about a third of its 19% stake but insists it will retain a seat on the Board, giving it some leverage over how Aspen conducts its business in future.
GSK will use the multimillion-pound windfall ‘for general corporate purposes’.
“The close relationship between GSK and Aspen will not be affected by this transaction,” GSK said in a statement, adding that the company “intends to remain a significant shareholder of Aspen”.
Investors have been able to buy the GSK shares in Aspen for 250 rand each – but GSK says it will not be offering any more for at least six months ‘subject to certain limited exceptions’.
“GSK has a long and successful partnership with Aspen – and our investment in the company has grown in value significantly over time,” explained David Redfern, GSK’s chief strategy officer.
“Having assessed this investment we have now decided to realise some of this value without altering the basis of the partnership,” he went on. “We remain committed to working closely with Aspen as shown by our remaining stake in the company and our board seat. We look forward to the two companies continuing to work successfully together in the future.”
GSK’s stake in the company dates back to 2009 when the pair entered two commercial collaborations in sub-Saharan Africa. Most recently Aspen took on GSK’s thrombosis portfolio and the plant in France which makes the products.
The £700 million agreement saw Aspen take control of GSK’s Factor Xa inhibitor Arixtra (fondaparinux sodium) and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) Fraxiparine (nadroparin) in most world markets except China, India and Pakistan.
Aspen has been growing fast on the back of international acquisitions, and earlier this year spent $1 billion on a Merck Sharpe & Dohme facility in Oss, the Netherlands, along with a portfolio of 11 branded finished dosage form drugs.
Previously it bought GSK’s Australian generics unit last year for $270 million, as well as Australian group Sigma’s pharma business in 2009 for around $800 million, to give a major lift to its presence in Asia.
Aspen has 6,000 employees and sales of 19.3 billion rand ($1.9 billion) in the year ended June 30, up 27% year-on-year. The company says it is the ninth-largest generic drugmaker worldwide.
Adam Hill
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