An Indian pharmaceutical group is closing in on a deal to snap up Nicotinell, the anti-smoking aid, from Haleon, its FTSE-100 parent company.
Sky News has learnt that Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories could be within days of acquiring the brand and a number of lesser-known European products from Haleon.
Sources said a deal was likely to be announced as soon as this week.
It was unclear on Sunday how much Dr Reddy’s might pay for the Haleon-owned assets, although it is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
Should it be completed, it will be the latest in a string of acquisitions for the Indian- and US-listed company.
Dr Reddy’s has a market value in New York of about $11.7bn, having been established in 1984.
In Britain, the company has had a presence since 2002, and includes commercial offices and a research and development centre in Cambridge.
It also operates an active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing site in Mirfield, West Yorkshire.
Dr Reddy’s has been in talks for months about acquiring the Nicotinell brand from Haleon, the over-the-counter products giant spun out of FTSE-100 drug maker GlaxoSmithKline.
Haleon, which has a market capitalisation of close to £29.5bn, is chaired by the former Tesco chief executive Sir Dave Lewis.
GSK sold its remaining stake in Haleon earlier this month.
Haleon owns some of the most recognisable over-the-counter healthcare brands in Britain, including the multivitamin supplement Centrum, Panadol pain relief tablets and Sensodyne toothpaste.
Nicotinell, which is sold in patch, gum and lozenge form, is said to be the second-largest nicotine replacement therapy product globally.
Its prospective sale will come days after Rishi Sunak’s administration failed to pass his flagship anti-smoking bill after he called a surprise summer general election.
Haleon declined to comment.
