Sector News

Reckitt Benckiser Details Indivior Float

November 17, 2014
Life sciences
Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC on Monday said it expects its pharmaceutical unit—Indivior PLC—to start trading on the London Stock Exchange on Dec. 23.
 
The consumer goods company, whose brands include Calgon, Finish, Dettol and Durex, said shareholders would get one new share in Indivior for each Reckitt share held.
 
Reckitt didn’t give a valuation for Indivior, but analysts have previously valued the business at $1 billion to $4 billion.
 
The company said in July that it planned to demerge the unit and float it as a separately listed company, ending months of speculation as to its fate. Last month, it said it expected the listing to be completed this year.
 
Reckitt, which is recommending that shareholders approve the demerger in a Dec. 11 vote, argues that spinning off its pharmaceutical operations will allow both companies to better focus on their core businesses.
 
The division has struggled in recent years after the patent for the tablet version of its market-leading heroin-substitute drug, Suboxone, expired in 2010. Since then the introduction of generic, lower-cost versions of the drug have eaten away at its revenue in the core U.S. market. Reckitt discontinued the tablet in March 2013.
 
For the year ended Dec. 31, the business reported revenue of $1.2 billion and net income of $489 million.
 
Indivior will be led by Chief Executive Shaun Thaxter, who has run the business since 2003. It recently appointed Cary J. Claiborne as its chief financial officer, and Howard Pien will serve as chairman.
 
By Ian Walker 
 

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