Unilever will not increase £50 billion offer for GSK

Unilever has confirmed that it will not increase its offer for consumer healthcare business GlaxoSmithKline beyond £50 billion, despite GSK disputing its latest bid.

GSK has revealed it has rejected a series of offers from Unilever, saying they "fundamentally undervalued" the business. The latest proposal from Unilever was for a total acquisition value of £50 billion, comprising of £41.7 billion in cash and £8.3 billion in Unilever shares.

In the statement, GSK said: "The board of GSK unanimously concluded that the proposals were not in the best interests of GSK shareholders as they fundamentally undervalued the consumer healthcare business and its future prospects."

In response to this, Unilever has since released its own statement outlining the company's refusal to take the offer above £50 billion. Within this, Unilever said: "Unilever is committed to strict financial discipline to ensure that acquisitions create value for shareholders.

"The management and Board of Unilever remain focused on continuing to build momentum across the business and reshaping the company for a strong and sustainable future."

However, Unilever revealed that even after the rejection, GSK's portfolio of brands including Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol painkillers would be a "strong strategic fit".

Unilever currently owns beauty brands including Dove, Radox, Lynx and Simple. Within the statement, the company outlined its commitment to heavily investing in its prestige beauty category in the upcoming years. Along with implementing a series of initiatives to enhance its operating performance.