Reckitt share price: Group said to be interested in GSK division

Reckitt Benckiser (LON:RB) is said to be eyeing the consumer healthcare products division of pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK).

Ace fund manager Neil Woodford recently said that GSK should be split into two separate entities, rather than run as a single £65 billion giant. He remarked that the FTSE 100-listed pharmco did not not “do a particularly good job of managing all of the constituent parts”. Rumours yesterday suggested that GSK CEO Andrew Witty is now considering selling its consumer healthcare products division. The business, which contains brands such as Panadol, Beechams Day/Night Nurse, and toothpastes Aquafresh and Sensodyne, is forecast to generate £6.8 billion of sales this year, making for a costly asset to purchase, with analysts predicting a price tag of a hefty four times 2016 sales.

According to media reports, Reckitt, whose portfolio includes its portfolio of trusted brands like Dettol, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Durex, Harpic, Mortein and Air Wick, is at the front of a queue of potential buyers, which also includes Unilever (LON:ULVR) and Proctor & Gamble.

In 2014, Reckitt’s boss Rakesh Kapoor walked away from paying £9 billion for the consumer health business of Germany’s Merck in 2014, but said there would be consolidation in the industry.

Reckitt’s share price has been on the up today amid a broader increase on the FTSE 100 benchmark index. As of 11:02 GMT, the group was trading 1.01 percent higher at 6,187.00p. Meanwhile, the Footsie was 1.02 percent better off at 5,992.08 points.
As of 11:08 GMT, Friday, 29 January, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc share price is 6,191.50p.