Party is over......

Reckitt Benckiser weighs options for pharmaceutical unit, including sale
(Ref: The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, FinanzNachrichten, London South East, Bloomberg, Reckitt Benckiser)
October 22nd, 2013
By: Matthew Dennis

Reckitt Benckiser announced Tuesday the start of a strategic review of its pharmaceutical business, which the company said will include "all options for maximising value for our shareholders." CEO Rakesh Kapoor noted that although the unit is "a fantastic business...it’s not core to the company."

In February, the FDA denied Reckitt Benckiser's Citizen's Petition calling for more stringent packaging standards on products containing buprenorphine to treat opioid dependence and at the same time approved two generic versions of the company's Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone). "I’ve said that several months after the entry of generics we will confirm the resiliency of the film business and the impact of generics. We are now in that phase. Nothing is ruled out," Kapoor remarked.

Panmure Gordon analyst Graham Jones said that Reckitt Benckiser's pharmaceutical division, which posted a 14-percent decline in third quarter sales to 191 million pounds ($308 million), was probably worth about 2 billion pounds ($3.2 billion). Meanwhile, Martin Deboo of Investec put a "plausible" valuation on the unit of between 2.5 billion pounds ($4 billion) and 5.5 billion pounds ($8.9 billion).

"The pharmaceuticals business has always sat slightly on the side of what [Reckitt Benckiser] does," Jones commented, adding "they need to sell this to a proper pharmaceuticals company and move on with the job of being a consumer brands company." Reckitt Benckiser indicated that it expects the review to take some time, with an update planned for 2014.

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Richard was sent here to

1. Maximize profits
2. Close down shop

He's done the first and is working on the second. It's been a hell of a good run!

 

That's the best news I have heard in a long time!!

 

That tells me the investigations are not going well.

 

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/aed1955e-3b2a-11e3-87fa-00144feab7de.html#axzz2iTsLXzPY
Reckitt’s unwanted drugs unit is a poisoned chalice for buyers

Reckitt Benckiser has long been seeking a buyer for the Suboxone business, which sits awkwardly with its other products, notably such well-known and advertised consumer brands as Nurofen and Finish dishwasher tablets. On Monday, the company explicitly announced a review, hinting at a sale during 2014.

 

http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?...41H0EME2DT4G8N

Reckitt Heroin-Addiction Unit Review Points to Possible Sale

 

http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MUSU9X1A74E901-6H8QA10VGV9H41H0EME2DT4G8N

 

Given how long it takes to find a job in this industry, my search will begin tomorrow. Screw my Drs and RB - need to take care of me first. Know this unit will be gone within a year and I, a long with a lot of my peers, will be long gone before that day arrives. Good bye!

 

Obviously not written by an RB employee, since we are all at a meeting until Thursday.

 

Anyone else wondering how this is going to play out?

 

Spin off most likely. Too much potential.

 

It's sooooo over, like it was in 2009, 2011, 2013....yet we are still here.

Here is my take: herp, derp, herp, OMG!

 

Agree, the analysts haven't understood us from the beginning, and we've been going down since 2009! They know about as much about Addiction as Orexo.

 

We're selling you, but in the mean time- here's 80 million for R and D. They say what they have to to get the stock price to go up.

 

If no one can post a comment because "WE" are all at a meeting... then why are YOU posting? Anyone can look for a job anytime with an iphone and a LinkedIn app. You need to catch up.

 

The party isn't over! We just had a hell of a good one last night. The costumes were outrageous and hilarious!

 

Uh, they weren't costumes. BTW the "party" was over by 04.

 

Reckitt Heroin Addiction Treatment Seen Luring Shire: Real M&A

Trista Kelley and Matthew BoyleOct 31, 2013 8:13 am ET


Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc’s heroin addiction treatment could tempt drugmakers from Shire Plc to Actavis Plc to bid for the company’s pharmaceuticals unit.
http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MVGBTY0YHQ0X01-3K704JHALBE5UR8RP4S3JNOGMN

Shire has been on the hunt for deals to ease reliance on its best-seller Vyvanse for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Dublin-based drugmaker could be a logical buyer for the unit because it has managed competition with generics before and is adept at handling complex U.S. rules to curb illicit use of prescription medicines, Liberum Capital Ltd. said. While generic variants of Reckitt Benckiser’s Suboxone were introduced this year, the drug still dominates the U.S. market and a new injectable treatment is under development.

Shire surged to a record this week, increasing its ability to finance an acquisition with stock, and also has more cash on hand than 99 percent of specialty drug companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Generic-drug makers Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Actavis also may be interested in the RB Pharmaceuticals unit based on their experience extracting profits from assets that, like Suboxone, have declining sales, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. said.

“There is definitely a lot of future potential in RB Pharma,” said Andrew Wood, an analyst at Bernstein in Singapore. “There must be some pharma companies out there who think that they can do even better, and take it to the next level.”

Weighing Options

Reckitt Benckiser said this month that it’s weighing options for its pharmaceuticals unit, whose main drug Suboxone treats addiction to opioids including heroin. The company, which also makes French’s mustard, Nurofen painkillers and Durex condoms, hasn’t yet hired advisers and said it plans to update investors on the progress of the review next year.

Andraea Dawson-Shepherd, a spokeswoman at Slough, U.K.- based Reckitt Benckiser, declined to comment on the review process.

Since 2010, RB Pharma has offered Suboxone in a film-strip format, which has captured more than two-thirds of the $1.7 billion market in the U.S. While the film version is patent- protected until at least 2020, it’s grappling with increased competition.

Zubsolv, a tablet from Orexo AB, won U.S. regulatory approval in July and began selling in September. Plus, two generic Suboxone tablets hit the market in March.

Not Core

RB Pharma is “a fantastic business, but it’s not core to the company,” Reckitt Benckiser Chief Executive Officer Rakesh Kapoor said in a phone interview on Oct. 22, when the company announced the review. “I’ve said that several months after the entry of generics we will confirm the resiliency of the film business and the impact of generics. We are now in that phase. Nothing is ruled out.”

 

What is corruption? Why it occurs? Corruption occurs because it is human nature to take the easy way out and to gain personal benefit from whatever means possible. That would include lying about what you did and didn't do and what someone else did or didn't do or say. Remember how you lied and lied and lied?

 

Anyone wanna bet on who is buying us out? Better pucker up or fire up the old resume.