Pfizer has offloaded a £2.4bn stake in consumer healthcare group, Haleon, which has confirmed it intends to buy back £230m worth of the shares.

Haleon has agreed to make an off-market purchase in conjunction with an offering by Pfizer to institutional investors, with the purchase price payable by Haleon to Pfizer priced at £3.80 per ordinary share.

The off-market purchase includes over 30.1 million ordinary shares worth approximately £114.6m in aggregate, which will be cancelled and represent the remainder of the £500m allocated to share buybacks in 2024.

As such, Haleon – whose brands include Sensodyne toothpaste, Panadol and Advil painkillers and Centrum vitamins – has also confirmed that it has ended its on-market share buyback programme launched on 1 August.

Separate to the remaining capital allocated to buybacks in 2024, the off-market purchase includes an additional 30.4 million ordinary shares worth approximately £115.4m in aggregate, that will be held as treasury shares.

Haleon CEO, Brian McNamara, commented: “Our purchase of shares from Pfizer will successfully deliver on our commitment to return £500m to shareholders through share buybacks this year, and marks another milestone in Pfizer reducing its stake in Haleon following our listing in July 2022.

“It's also fully consistent with our capital allocation priorities to drive attractive returns for shareholders, underpinned by a strong investment grade balance sheet.”

Following completion of the deal, Pfizer’s interest in Haleon’s issued ordinary shares with voting rights is expected to reduce from approximately 22.6% to 15%.

---