GSK reveals name of new consumer goods spin-off will be ‘Haleon’
Pharmaceuticals giant Glaxosmithkline (GSK) has revealed that its consumer healthcare business will be called Haleon following a planned spin off.
The consumer goods arm of GSK, which is home to brands including Sensodyne toothpaste, Voltaren and Panadol painkillers, will strike out on its own when it lists on the London stock market this Summer.
The drugmaker said Haleon (pronounced “Hay-Lee-On”) was inspired by the words “Hale”, an old English word that means “in good health” and Leon, which is associated with “strength”.
GSK said the business has grown in size over the past eight years, merging with consumer product portfolios from Novartis and Pfizer to now generate annual sales of £10bn.
“Haleon has enormous potential to improve health and wellbeing across the world with strong prospects for growth, and through listing will unlock significant value for GSK shareholders,” said Emma Walmsley, the chief executive of GSK.
The new venture has already generated plenty of investor interest. GSK snubbed a £50bn offer for its consumer goods business from Unilever which it claimed significantly undervalued the new company and its potential.
Brian McNamara, the incoming chief executive officer of Haleon, said: “Introducing Haleon to the world marks another step in our journey to become a new, standalone company.
“We are on track to launch Haleon in mid-2022 and our business momentum is strong. We look forward to updating investors and analysts more on this at our capital markets event at the end of February,” he added.
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