Pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline rejects Unilever’s $69 bln offer for Advil unit

• Glaxosmithkline’s shares rose by nearly 3% after the announcement

• Unilever’s shares fell more than 8%, highlighting investors' doubts regarding the sale

GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE: GSK) shares rose by nearly 3% after the pharmaceutical giant rejected an unsolicited offer of $68.4 billion, by Unilever (NYSE: UL), for the unit behind painkiller Advil and Sensodyne toothpaste that the former owns with Pfizer.

Unilever’s shares fell more than 8%, highlighting investors' doubts about its $68.4 billion offer. 

GlaxoSmithKline said that ever since it planned to spin off the unit, it had received three separate bids from Unilever, the last one received on December 20.

Listing or selling dilemma

It said on Saturday that Unilever's proposal "fundamentally undervalued" the consumer business, adding that it would stick to its plan of listing the division this year.

GSK laid out plans for a separate listing of the consumer arm in June 2021, as investors pressurized the company to explore the option of a shake-up and focus on its pharmaceuticals business.

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Reuters reported that GSK, led by Emma Walmsley, has hired Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to review Unilever's approach but it will not engage in talks unless Unilever bumps up its offer.

A Unilever buyout of the consumer division would be one of the largest ever on the London market, and one of the biggest deals globally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic reported the news agency.

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(Inputs from Reuters)

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