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LONDON — Haleon will be the name of the new company resulting from the proposed spin-off of GlaxoSmithKline plc’s (GSK) Consumer Healthcare business in mid-2022.
Haleon (pronounced “Hay-Lee-On”) merges “hale,” an old English word that means “in good health,” and the Greek “leon,” which is associated with strength. The new brand identity was developed with input from employees, healthcare practitioners and consumers and will be deployed in more than 100 markets around the world where the business operates.
The creation of Haleon results from a series of investments and strategic changes to GSK’s consumer health business over the last 8 years, including integrations of the consumer product portfolios from Novartis and Pfizer. It is now a highly valuable and focused global business generating annual sales of approximately £10 billion.
As a standalone company, Haleon will be a world leader in consumer healthcare, offering a compelling proposition — to bring deep human understanding together with trusted science — to deliver better everyday health with humanity.
Brian McNamara
Brian McNamara, Chief Executive Officer designate of Haleon, said: “Introducing Haleon to the world marks another step in our journey to become a new, standalone company. Our name is grounded in our purpose to deliver better everyday health with humanity and to be a world leader in consumer healthcare. We are on track to launch Haleon in mid-2022 and our business momentum is strong. We look forward to updating investors and analysts more on this at our capital markets event at the end of February.”
Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive Officer of GSK, said: “Haleon brings to life years of hard work by many outstanding people to build this new company purely dedicated to everyday health. Haleon has enormous potential to improve health and well-being across the world with strong prospects for growth, and through listing will unlock significant value for GSK shareholders.”
Haleon will have a portfolio of category leading global brands, including Sensodyne, Voltaren, Panadol and Centrum. Its brands are trusted by healthcare professionals, customers and people worldwide. Demand from the £150 billion consumer healthcare sector is strong, reflecting an increased focus on health and wellness, significant demand from an aging population and emerging middle class, and unmet consumer needs. The business is therefore well positioned to deliver human health impact and to sustainably grow ahead of the market in the years to come.
The new name was announced as part of a global celebration for all of the people working in GSK Consumer Healthcare earlier Tuesday. Employees from around the world had the opportunity to engage with the new name and brand identity which seeks to bring to life the company’s purpose and growth ambitions.
The name was also announced in advance of GSK hosting a Consumer Healthcare Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts on February 28 to provide details on the overall strategy, capabilities and operations of Haleon, including detailed financial information and growth ambitions of the business. For prospective investors, Haleon will offer attractive organic sales growth, operating margin expansion and consistent high cash generation.
As set out at GSK’s Investor Update in June, subject to approval from shareholders, the separation of consumer healthcare will be by way of a spin-off of at least 80% of GSK’s holding to shareholders.
Haleon will be headquartered in Weybridge, UK, and is expected to attain a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, with ADRs to be listed in the U.S. The new Weybridge campus is expected to open at the end of 2024 and, as well as being the new company’s corporate headquarters, will be a center of R&D and innovation, and home to a new state-of-the-art Shopper Science Lab.
GSK confirmed Brian McNamara as CEO designate in July, and in December appointed Sir Dave Lewis as the new company’s chair designate.
