GSK plans to sell half its stake in Aspen Pharmacare

UK pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) says that it plans to dispose of half its current 12.4% stake in South African drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare.

GSK is to sell 28.2 million ordinary shares in Aspen Pharmacare at a price of 372  rand per share ($30.40), raising gross proceeds of approximately 10.5 billion rand (around $853 million). Following settlement of the sale, GSK will hold 28.2 million ordinary shares in Aspen, approximately 6.2% of the issued share capital. It has undertaken not to dispose of any further shares in Aspen for a period of 180 days following completion, subject to certain limited exceptions.

Proceeds from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes, and the net profit on disposal will not be included in core operating profit and core earnings per share in 2015. It is expected that GSK will not account for Aspen as an associate in the future.