Philip Morris may soon sell a stake in Vectura Group

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Written on Sep 20, 2023

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Philip Morris is reportedly considering selling a stake in its largest pharma unit.
It booked a $680 million impairment charge on its health and wellness unit in Q2.
Wall Street currently has a consensus "buy" rating on shares of Philip Morris.

Shares of Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) are trading up today following a report that the multinational is considering trimming its stake in Vectura Group.

Vectura is the largest pharma unit of Philip Morris

Anonymous sources told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that Philip Morris was looking for a partner to help improve state of things at its largest pharmaceuticals unit.

Options other than selling a minority or majority stake in Vectura that it’s contemplating include a commercial partnership or a licensing/royalties agreement, they added.

Philip Morris has not officially responded to the WSJ report so far. Earlier this year, Emmanuel Babeau – its Chief Financial Officer had said:

We aim to accelerate Vectura’s growth and will be exploring potential partnerships to enhance its contract development and manufacturing organisation business.

Philip Morris booked a charge on health and wellness in Q2

Philip Morris had bought the U.K. based inhaled medications company for $1.45 billion in 2021 as part of its broader commitment to becoming a health and wellness company.

But that segment has stalled recently. In July, the New York listed firm delayed its target to hit $1.0 billion in revenue from health and wellness by 2025. Philip Morris booked a $680 million impairment charge on that business in the second quarter.

Wednesday’s report said it has now held talks with Deutsche Bank aimed at exploring options that could help its healthcare and wellness segment.

Wall Street has a consensus “buy” rating on Philip Morris that is currently trading at roughly the same price at which it started 2023.