LONDON (Alliance News) - Prominent City fund manager Neil Woodford is pushing for a break-up of pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Sky News reported.
Sky, citing insiders, said Woodford has held private talks with Philip Hampton, Glaxo's chairman, as part of a push for the drugs group to formally explore separating its ViiV Healthcare HIV business, its consumer healthcare arm and its dermatology division, Stiefel, from its core medicines and vaccines unit.
The insiders told Sky that a further meeting between Woodford and Hampton has been scheduled to discuss Woodford's belief that significant shareholder value could be unlocked by a break-up of the business. Woodford is also understood to have canvassed the views of other leading investors in Glaxo.
http://news.sky.com/story/1575538/city-star-woodford-urges-67bn-glaxo-break-up
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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