GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has withdrawn from the race to buy Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) consumer health-care business, the British company said on Friday, endangering an auction the U.S. drug maker hoped would bring in as much as $20 billion.
It was not immediately clear whether there were other offers for the business, which includes Advil painkillers and Centrum vitamins, following this week's deadline for binding bids.
GSK was seen as the frontrunner to buy the assets, after Reckitt Benckiser quit the race late on Wednesday.
Sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday there might still be interest in the Pfizer business, or the U.S. firm could decide against a sale.
Pfizer said on Friday it continued to evaluate potential alternatives for the business, which include a spinoff, sale or other transaction, as well as retaining it.
Pfizer is the world's fifth-largest player in consumer health with 2.5% of a market bolstered by aging populations and growing interest in health and wellness.
The business, which also includes Chapstick lip balm and Caltrate supplements, came to market at a bad time for both GSK and Reckitt.
Pfizer's hope of proceeds of around $20 billion, or about 20 times the unit's core earnings according to Bernstein analysts, contrasted with both companies' need for financial discipline.
Buying the Pfizer business would have been the boldest move to date for Emma Walmsley, who took over as CEO at GSK last April. But the wisdom of a deal split opinion among investors, with some worried about the risk to the company's dividend.
GSK shares hopped up $1.38, or 3.8%, to $37.53, while shares in PFE faded 34 cents to $35.26
