GSK completes sale of stake in Aspen Pharmacare

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has completed the partial sale of Aspen Pharmacare, the drug company announced on Wednesday.The group has disposed 28.2m ordinary shares in Aspen at a price of 250 South African Rand (ZAR) per share, raising gross proceeds of 7,059m ZAR.The sale will leave GSK with 56.5m ordinary shares in Aspen or 12.4% of issued share capital. GSK said it will retain a seat on Aspen's board and intends to remain a significant shareholder of Aspen. The firm will not sell of any further shares in Aspen for a period of six months following completion, subject to certain limited exceptions."Net proceeds of the transaction will be approximately £425m at the prevailing exchange rate on November 19th. Proceeds will be used for "general corporate purposes", GSK said. RD