(Reuters) -Novo Holdings, which controls obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, sold its 7.8% stake in Convatec at a discount, exiting its shareholding in the British maker of medical products, a bookrunner for the offering said on Tuesday. Shares in Convatec fell as much as 4.3% to 228.8 pence per share at 1406 GMT and were among […]
Health
Novo Holdings exits UK’s Convatec after discounted share sale, bookrunner says
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(Reuters) -Novo Holdings, which controls obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, sold its 7.8% stake in Convatec at a discount, exiting its shareholding in the British maker of medical products, a bookrunner for the offering said on Tuesday.
Shares in Convatec fell as much as 4.3% to 228.8 pence per share at 1406 GMT and were among the top losers on Britain’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index in early trading.
Novo sold about 155 million shares of Convatec at 227 pence a share, a discount of 5.1% to Monday’s 239.2 pence closing price, raising about 351 million pounds ($461.49 million), the bookrunner said.
Novo was Convatec’s largest shareholder prior to the sale and first became an investor in 2017 with board representation.
The firms, however, ended their boardroom arrangement in 2023 after Novo cited momentum in the business and high confidence in the company’s management.
“The book build in our shares last night was significantly oversubscribed,” a Convatec spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters’ request for comment.
The spokesperson said Novo had been “very supportive” of Convatec’s strategy, adding that “Convatec’s focus was unchanged”.
Novo’s exit came days after the British firm forecast double-digit percentage growth in 2026 profit, banking on launches of products such as wound dressings and rising demand in key markets.
“Over the past five years, Convatec has undergone a significant transformation,” Novo Holdings spokesperson Christian Mostrup said, adding that the Danish group was “grateful” for the companies’ partnership.
Novo had sold its other shares in Convatec before the latest offering.
“Novo Holdings has monetised all other previously held shares ahead of this contemplated sale via derivative transactions with hedge counterparties … following settlement of the offering, Novo Holdings will have fully exited its position,” the bookrunner said.
($1 = 0.7606 pounds)
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi, Nithyashree R B, Pushkala Aripaka and Ankita Bora in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Thomas Derpinghaus and Ed Osmond)