Glaxo and Reckitt are said to be only suitors for Pfizer’s division

GlaxoSmithKline and Reckitt Benckiser Group are the only companies to have submitted non-binding bids for Pfizer’s consumer-health business after other potential suitors bowed out, according to people with knowledge of the matter.Pfizer plans to open a data room for Glaxo and Reckitt to start due diligence on the assets before submitting final offers in the next few weeks, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. French drugmaker Sanofi, Switzerland’s Nestle SA and US healthcare-giant Johnson & Johnson were among companies to consider and then decide against bidding for the business, the people said.The deadline for non-binding offers for the business – which includes popular brands such as the pain reliever Advil, ChapStick lip balm and the dietary supplement Centrum – was February 1, the people said. The unit could fetch $15bn to $20bn, people familiar with the matter have said. Potential buyers have expressed concerns about the division’s stagnant sales as well as the challenge from online competitors such as Amazon.com Inc, the people said.Representatives for Glaxo, Reckitt, Sanofi and Nestle declined to comment. A spokesman for J&J confirmed that the company had withdrawn from the bidding process and declined to comment further.Shares of Glaxo fell 1.3% to £12.93 in London, extending its rout in the past year to 15.3%. Reckitt declined 1.6% to £66.07. Pfizer is continuing to evaluate a range of options for its consumer healthcare business, including a full or partial separation through a spinoff, sale or other transaction, and it may still opt to keep the business, a spokeswoman said. The New York-based drugmaker expects to reach a decision in 2018, she said. Its stock closed down 0.6% at $36.61 on Friday.Pfizer first announced a review of the business in October. A sale would help it raise billions of dollars in cash for acquisitions and streamline operations to focus on other growth areas. Sales at the consumer-products business were little changed in the fourth quarter from a year earlier at $950mn. Full-year sales at the unit advanced by 2% to $3.47bn.Glaxo chief executive officer Emma Walmsley said at a conference in San Francisco last month that the company’s top priority is the pharmaceuticals business and that it doesn’t need the Pfizer assets, though the business would be complementary to its own. Facing pressure to rejuvenate her company’s medicine pipeline and make the division more competitive, Walmsley has replaced about 50 of 125 top managers, aiming to bring in new ideas and skills. Reckitt chief executive officer Rakesh Kapoor last year split the Slough, England-based company into autonomous divisions for home-care and health products, taking the helm of the latter unit himself. That move triggered speculation that he was laying the groundwork for a broader strategic shift, or even a sale of the household business. The CEO has faced increasing pressure to rejuvenate the businesses following a slump in sales at the newly acquired baby-formula business Mead Johnson.Pedestrians walk past Pfizer headquarters in New York. GlaxoSmithKline and Reckitt Benckiser Group are the only companies to have submitted non-binding bids for Pfizer’s consumer-health business after other potential suitors bowed out, according to reports.