(Adds GSK comment, details on offer, shares)
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Unilever PLC on Wednesday
effectively abandoned its plans to buy GlaxoSmithKline's
consumer healthcare business, saying on Wednesday that it would
not raise a 50 billion pound ($68 billion) offer that GSK
previously rejected.
U.S.-listed shares of Unilever rose 10.1% on the news, while
GSK's fell 2.8% . The two stocks also trade on the FTSE,
which was closed for the day's trading.
GSK was not immediately available for comment.
GlaxoSmithKline confirmed over the weekend that it had
rejected three bids from Unilever for its consumer arm, which is
home to brands such as Sensodyne toothpaste, Emergen-C vitamin
supplement and Panadol painkiller.
The pharmaceutical company said the bids "fundamentally
undervalued" the business and its future prospects and that it
would stick to its plan to separately list the business.
"We note the recently shared financial assumptions from the
current owners of GSK Consumer Healthcare and have determined
that it does not change our view on fundamental value," Unilever
said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The Dove soap maker's move comes after analysts and
investors widely panned the offer, sending Unilever's shares
down 8% on Monday, worried about the financial implications for
the company.
Reports https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-gsk-and-pfizer-hold-out-for-60-bln-idUSFWN2TV037
emerged that GSK was holding out for a bid of over 60 billion
pounds, putting Unilever under pressure to raise its offer for a
deal that did not have broad support.
($1 = 0.7337 pounds)
(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale and Aby Jose Koilparambil in
Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Alexandra Hudson)
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)
Unilever (ULVR)