British pharma GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) joined the recent groundswell of high-grade corporate bond issuers Monday to sell new debt.
The UK-based firm priced US$3.5bn worth of ‘A’-rated, three-, five- and 10-year notes to help pay for its estimated US$5.1bn purchase of oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company Tesaro.
GSK said in late January it completed the acquisition, which aims to accelerate the build of its pipeline and commercial cancer treatment capabilities.
The deal repositions GSK into the oncology arena after offloading that business to Swiss multinational pharma Novartis (NYSE: NVS) in 2015 for around US$16bn, as part of