GSK to jettison half Aspen stake to fund 'reshape'
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
GlaxoSmithKline plans to sell around half of its 12.4% stake in South Africa's largest listed pharma company Aspen Pharmacare – worth around $890m – through a placing to institutional investors. Having closed the landmark megadeal with Novartis last week, GSK is taking the opportunity to assess strategic options. CEO Sir Andrew Witty said ahead of the close that it would be "disingenuous" to say that the Novartis transaction did not give him "options for different structures that may enhance shareholder value."