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GSK's $3.6B dermatology bet was progressively dismantled: sold off in pieces over the next decade for a fraction of the price, and by 2019 GSK was trying to exit prescription dermatology altogether.
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CEO Andrew Witty: 'This transaction will create a new world-leading, specialist dermatology business' — $2.9B cash + $0.4B debt + $0.3B contingent;…
Pharmaceutical Executive noted GSK was buying into a fragmented Rx dermatology market (top 20 = <58% share, $11.7B in 2007, 10% YoY growth), positioning the…
S&P highlighted analyst skepticism — Credit Suisse's Luisa Hector warned dermatology 'tends to be old molecules with limited innovation in formulations' — even…
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In April 2009, GlaxoSmithKline agreed to acquire Stiefel Laboratories, the world's largest independent dermatology company, in a transaction valued at up to $3.6 billion -- comprising $2.9 billion in cash, roughly $0.4 billion of assumed net debt, and up to $0.3 billion in contingent payments. The deal closed on July 22, 2009, creating a new world-leading specialist dermatology business that GSK expected to generate up to $240 million in annual pre-tax cost savings by 2012.
GSK's $3.6B dermatology bet was progressively dismantled: sold off in pieces over the next decade for a fraction of the price, and by 2019 GSK was trying to exit prescription dermatology altogether.
Assessment window: 15yr post-close.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| GlaxoSmithKline plc / Stiefel Laboratories (this deal) | 2009 | $3.6B | 29 |
| GlaxoSmithKline plc / Theravance, Inc. | 2012 | $213M | 82 |
| GlaxoSmithKline plc / Tesaro Inc. | 2018 | $5.1B | 79 |
| GlaxoSmithKline plc / Pfizer Inc. (Consumer Healthcare Division) | 2018 | $12.7B | 76 |
| GlaxoSmithKline plc / Novartis Consumer Healthcare JV | 2018 | $13.0B | 74 |
| GlaxoSmithKline plc / ID Biomedical Corporation | 2005 | $1.4B | 64 |
| GlaxoSmithKline plc / Vir Biotechnology Inc. | 2020 | $595M | 51 |
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