Unilever offered 50 bln pounds for GSK unit – report

General view outside GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) headquarters in Brentford, London, Britain, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Matthew Childs

LONDON, Jan 15 (Reuters) – Consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR.L) made a bid towards the end of last year for pharmaceutical group Glaxosmithkline’s (GSK.L) consumer goods business worth roughly 50 billion pounds ($68.4 billion), Britain’s Sunday Times reported.

GSK and Pfizer (PFE.N), which owns a minority stake in the division, were understood to have rejected the offer on the basis that it was too low, the newspaper said.

The approach by Unilever, which owns brands such as Dove soap and Marmite, for Glaxo’s portfolio of household brands including Panadol painkillers and Sensodyne toothpaste was understood to have been unsolicited, it added.

Unilever’s bid did not include any takeover premium or recognition of synergies, the newspaper said.

It was not clear whether Unilever would make a higher offer and talks were not thought to be live, it said.

Reuters has sought comment from the companies.

($1 = 0.7314 pounds)

Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Jan Harvey

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