Glaxo Seeks Bids Mid-September for $4 Billion India Sale
U.K. pharmaceutical giant?GlaxoSmithKline Plc?has requested bids by mid-September for its $4.3 billion Indian consumer-health unit, which owns the popular malted milk brand Horlicks, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Glaxo has sent out an information memorandum with preliminary details about the business to possible suitors, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The sale has attracted interest from potential bidders including Nestle SA, PepsiCo Inc. and?Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, they said.
Steady Growth
India's malted drink sales posted an average 11% annual growth in the last decade
Source: Euromonitor International
Note: Horlicks, Cadbury Bournvita, Boost, Maltova and Viva lead India's malted drink market
Glaxo?s review of assets includes its 82 percent stake in the Dhaka-listed?GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Ltd., as well as marketing rights to some consumer-health brands in other emerging economies including Malaysia, the people said. There?s no certainty the deliberations will lead to a transaction, and the parent company may yet decide to keep the businesses, they said.
