(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 more than 3% in early trading and were among the top losers on Britain’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index.
Novo sold about 155 million shares of ConvaTec at 227 pence a share, below the Monday closing price of 239.2 pence, 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.
But the firms ended their boardroom arrangement in 2023 after Novo cited momentum in the business and high confidence in the company’s management.
Novo had sold the rest of its shares in ConvaTec in other deals prior to the latest offering, the bookrunner said on Tuesday.
“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,” it said.
The exit comes just 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.
($1 = 0.7606 pounds)
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi, Nithyashree R B and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Thomas Derpinghaus)
