Viatris, the global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Cecil, announced Sunday it plans to divest multiple segments of its business for $6.94 billion.

The planned divestitures include its over-the-counter operations, women’s health care, active pharmaceutical ingredients in India and certain noncore market rights.

"I am very excited about today's announcement as it marks an important milestone in the execution of our overall strategic plan,” Viatris CEO Scott A. Smith said in a news release. “Not only will this bring to conclusion all of our Phase 1 commitments, including the expected achievement of our deleveraging target of 3 times gross leverage in the first half of 2024, importantly it will also set the company up extremely well as we enter into our Phase 2 strategy for 2024 and beyond.”

While divesting its over-the-counter operations, the company said it will retain the rights to some assets such as Viagra and Dymista.

The company said the net proceeds of the divestitures will be used for debt reduction.

The Viatris divestitures summary, including the total estimated transaction and retained value.(Courtesy of Viatris Inc.)

The company also said the deal will lead to the simplification of its organization. Up to 12 facilities and 6,000 employees may be conveyed in the process.

“Needless to say, I am extremely pleased with our excellent overall results — reaching the Company's previously communicated range on both aggregate value and multiple while also retaining important assets — despite the challenging external macro-economic environment in which we had to execute,” Mr. Smith said. “In addition, we achieved our goal of substantially simplifying the organization as we increase our focus on areas with the greatest potential to accelerate our growth, patient impact and shareholder value. We are committed to ensuring a successful transition for our colleagues, our partners, our customers and the patients we serve."

The divestitures are expected to close by the end of the first half of 2024 and are subject to regulatory approvals, consultations and other closing conditions.

First Published: October 3, 2023, 2:01 a.m.
Updated: October 3, 2023, 2:06 a.m.