Unilever gives up hunt for GSK consumer unit

By Brian Buntz | January 20, 2022

GSK Unilever (LON:ULVR) recently offered to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK; NYSE:GSK) consumer healthcare unit for £50 billion (about $68 billion).

After facing pushback from analysts, investors and credit rating agencies about the deal, Unilever has abandoned the pursuit.

In an announcement, the company said it would not raise its offer above £50 billion, noting that it was committed to “strict financial discipline.”

The GSK consumer unit, of which Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) owns 32%, manufactures products ranging from toothpaste to Tylenol to vitamins.

GSK has said in the past that it was mulling spinning off the consumer division.

Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) have made similar moves.

While GSK aims to focus on higher-margin drugs, Unilever is looking to rekindle growth after the pandemic has reduced demand for its products for hygiene and packaged food and refreshments.

About The Author

Brian Buntz

The pharma and biotech editor of WTWH Media, Brian is a veteran journalist with more than 15 years of experience covering an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, drug discovery and development and medical devices. Before coming to WTWH, he served as content director focused on connected devices at Informa. In addition, Brian covered the medical device sector for 10 years at UBM. At Qmed, he overhauled the brand’s news coverage and helped to grow the site’s traffic volume dramatically. He had previously held managing editor roles on two of the company’s medical device technology publications. Connect with him on LinkedIn or email at [email protected].