Pfizer
Pfizer explores sale of hospital drugs unit amid activist investor’s call for accountability: Reuters
After a series of acquisitions and an activist investor’s accusation of overspending, Pfizer is exploring an opportunity to slim down by divesting its hospital drugs unit, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
The hospital unit was itself the result of a major acquisition, formed after Pfizer shelled out $17 billion to purchase Hospira in 2015. But now, Pfizer has tapped Goldman Sachs to gauge interest from potential buyers such as private equity shops and other drugmakers, the sources said, according to Reuters.
The unit includes a portfolio of sterile injectables such as antibiotic brands Sulperazon, Zavicefta and Zithromax, the steroid Medrol and immune globulin product Panzyga.
Hospira’s original biosimilar portfolio has been merged with other divisions within Pfizer, and the global infusion therapy business—including IV pumps, solutions and devices—was sold to ICU Medical for $1 billion in 2016.
The Pfizer business, which generates around $500 million in annual EBITDA, could be worth a few billion dollars, the sources said. The decision to sell is not final, and Pfizer could eventually choose to keep the unit, the sources said.
The move comes as Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla faces pressure from activist investor Starboard Value following a post-COVID M&A spree. After taking a $1 billion stake in the New York pharma giant, Starboard came out in October demanding Pfizer’s board to “hold management accountable” for what the hedge fund described as a poor track record in M&A and R&D returns.
By Starboard’s count, Pfizer has spent $70 billion on M&A deals since 2022 but has lost $20 billion in market value since 2019.
The lower valuation and levered balance sheet could hamper Pfizer’s ability to do additional M&As, further limiting the company’s growth prospect, Starboard argued in a recent presentation.
Pfizer’s net debt hovered around $60 billion in the past quarters. As of late October, Pfizer has paid down about $4.4 billion of debt this year and will continue to reduce its debt level, CFO Dave Denton said on the company’s recent third-quarter earnings call.
Pfizer’s injectables business took a hit in 2023 after a tornado damaged its manufacturing facility in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The plant is a key producer of sterile injectables, responsible for manufacturing nearly 25% of all Pfizer sterile injectable products. While manufacturing has resumed, Pfizer has been projecting supply disruptions through 2024.
