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Haleon plc (LSE:HLN) has announced that it will purchase 60,526,315 ordinary shares from Pfizer Inc. as part of an off-market transaction. This agreement follows the company’s previous announcement on September 30, 2024, and is being carried out in accordance with a share purchase deed that was previously approved by Haleon's shareholders. The purchase is also linked to an offering by Pfizer to institutional investors, the results of which were announced earlier by Pfizer.
Haleon will pay £3.80 per ordinary share to Pfizer, bringing the total consideration for the transaction to approximately £230 million. As part of this off-market purchase, 30,161,278 ordinary shares—valued at about £114.6 million—will be canceled. This cancellation completes the £500 million allocated for share buybacks in 2024. Consequently, Haleon has also ended its on-market share buyback program, which had been initiated on August 1, 2024.
In addition to the canceled shares, Haleon will acquire 30,365,037 shares, worth approximately £115.4 million, which will be held as treasury shares. These shares will be used to meet Haleon’s obligations under its employee share plans in 2025.
Following the completion of this transaction and Pfizer's offering to institutional investors, Pfizer’s stake in Haleon’s voting ordinary shares will drop from approximately 22.6% to around 15%. This reduction marks a significant change in Pfizer's holdings in Haleon, aligning with Pfizer’s ongoing plans to reduce its stake in the company.
