Pfizer Unit Could Fetch $15 Billion

Pfizer is taking bids for its consumer products unit. According to sources, GlaxoSmithKline has already offered $15 billion for the division, which includes such well-known brands as Listerine and Lubriderm. Other suitors are said to include ReckttBenckiser and Johnson & Johnson.

In a recent interview, chairman Hank McKinnell said negotiations with the top bidders is underway and a final decision is expected to be made by the end of the third quarter. Mr. McKinnell also said that spinning off the unit into a stand-alone company remains an option. Once the sell- or spinoff takes place, Pfizer will use the cash infusion to go shopping for fast-growing biotech companies, according to industry analysts.

But whatever the final decision, Pfizer’s consumer healthcare unit is a healthy business indeed. In 2005, total consumer healthcare revenues increased 10% to $3.9 billion.