P&G Moves Closer to Selling Drug Business

Procter & Gamble is said to be moving closer to selling its pharmaceutical unit, and the move could have an impact on the household and personal products industry.

The Wall Street Journal in Wednesday’s editions cited unidentified people familiar with the matter who say several potential buyers include specialty drug maker Warner Chilcott Ltd., and private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, and that a possible sale price is some $3 billion.

For those in the global household and personal products industry, you have to wonder what P&G will do with all that cash once a deal goes through. The company has been on a bit of a buying binge of late, having scooped up The Art of Shaving and Zirh—two upscale men’s grooming brands.

P&G said late last year it was interested in exiting the prescription-drug business. P&G pharmaceuticals include the osteoporosis treatment Actonel, which has more than $1 billion in annual revenues.

“We made it clear we’ll look at all options to maximize shareholder value,” P&G spokesman Paul Fox said Wednesday, adding that those include selling all or part of the business or keeping it. He wouldn’t comment further on “the current speculation.”