Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis says it is selling its stake in a consumer health care joint venture with GlaxoSmithKline to the British company for $13 billion.
The joint venture was formed in 2015 and Novartis holds a 36.5-percent stake. Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan said in a statement Wednesday that it “is progressing well,” but “the time is right for Novartis to divest a non-core asset at an attractive price.”
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Novartis said the sale will be a cash transaction, and is subject to the approval of GSK shareholders. The four Novartis-appointed directors on the joint venture’s board will step down when the sale is completed.
