The British-based pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is planning to offer more than $15 billion for the consumer health care business of its US rival Pfizer, according to a report in the Financial Times.
The paper, citing people close to the negotiations, said GSK had decided to move ahead with a bid that would turn it into the world's biggest producer of non-prescription drugs and the second-largest prescription drugs supplier.
Bids close on Tuesday for Pfizer's healthcare or 'over-the-counter' business. The FT said SK would probably face competition from half a dozen firms, including Colgate-Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser, Johnson & Johnson, Wyeth and, possibly, Bayer.
GSK is targeting the Pfizer unit to bolster its negotiating position with governments and retailers by offering a wide range of medicines as well as boosting its sales in the US, the newspaper said.
