Reckitt Benckiser Plc Launches Pharma Spin-Off
November 17, 2014
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Reckitt Benckiser Plc (RB) announced today a timeline for the “demerger” of its RB Pharmaceuticals (RBP) business to create a separate UK listing. RB had originally announced the plan on July 28, 2014.
The new demerged company will be called Indivior PLC and will be headquartered in the U.K. and traded on the London Stock Exchange. A General Meeting of RB will be held on Dec. 11, 2014 to approve the demerger. If approved, RB shareholders registered with RB at the demerger record date will receive one ordinary share of Indivior stock for each ordinary RB share held. The company expects to begin Indivior shares trading on Dec. 23, 2014.
“The Board of RB considers that the Demerger is in the best interests of RB Shareholders,” said RB chairman, Adrian Bellamy, in a statement. “Accordingly the Board of RB unanimously recommends shareholders to vote in favor of the Demerger at the General Meeting to be held on 11 December 2014.”
In its July 28 report, the company said, “A stand-alone business will be best placed to create value for shareholders as it manages the challenges and seizes the opportunities within the field of addiction. We also believe that RBP will be a more attractive partner for business development opportunities as a stand-alone and separately managed entity.”
Headquartered in Slough, England, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc is a global consumer goods company. It produces and markets health, hygiene and home products.
“Indivior, under the leadership of Shaun Thaxter, has built a global, industry leading company in addiction treatment,” said Indivior chairman, Howard Pien, in a statement. “The business has a profitable opioid addiction business and a strong pipeline that has the potential to revolutionize how the chronic disease is treated worldwide. I, and our newly formed Board, are delighted to lead Indivior through its next stage of evolution.”
RB announced on Oct. 21 that despite challenging markets, the company performed well in the third quarter. The company did particularly well in Russia, the Middle East and Africa (RUMEA), with improved performance in Turkey and Africa. The company announced net revenue of £2,370 million in the third quarter, with year-to-date net revenues of £7,037 million.
“We continue to sharpen our focus on driving the core business and in particular our health operations, which continue to show strong growth,” said CEO Rakesh Kapoor in a statement. “We are also gaining good traction from our efficiency programs. With the progress we have made in the separate of RBP, we now expect to demerge the business before year end.”