GlaxoSmithKline announced on April 1, 2020, the completion of its divestment of Horlicks and other Consumer Healthcare nutrition products in India to Unilever, including the merger of its Indian listed entity, GSK India, and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL).
GSK said it expects gross proceeds from the divestment to be £3.4 billion and net proceeds from the divestment to be £2.9 billion.
Through the merger of GSK India with HUL, GSK acquired a 5.7% stake in HUL, an Indian public company listed on the Indian National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), GSK said.
GSK noted it has, through its subsidiaries GlaxoSmithKline Pte Limited and Horlicks Limited, today agreed to the sale of 133,772,044 ordinary shares in HUL at a volume-weighted average price of approximately Rs. 1,905 per share, raising gross proceeds of approximately Rs. 254.8 billion (the Placing). Following settlement of the sale, GSK will no longer hold any HUL shares.
To remind, when GSK originally announced the divestment of Horlicks in December 2018, it expected gross proceeds from the overall transaction to be approximately £3.1 billion and net proceeds to be approximately £2.4 billion after hedging costs, taxes and other expenses had been settled. The proceeds from the divestment now expected, includes the proceeds received on the closing of the transaction on April 1, 2020, and the expected proceeds from the sale of our Bangladesh business, which is expected to close later this year.