Pfizer will divest its entire 11.7% economic interest in ViiV Healthcare under a newly announced agreement with GSK and Japan‑based Shionogi, simplifying the HIV specialist’s shareholder structure while preserving GSK’s majority control. Under the terms, ViiV Healthcare will issue new shares to Shionogi for approximately $2.1 billion, lifting the Japanese company’s economic stake from about 10% to 21.7% once the transaction closes. Pfizer’s existing holding will be cancelled, with the US drugmaker to receive around $1.88 billion in cash, while GSK will receive a special dividend of roughly $250 million and retain a 78.3% interest in ViiV.
The deal, expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026 pending regulatory clearances, marks Pfizer’s formal departure from ViiV, which it co‑founded with GSK in 2009 to pool HIV assets, later joined by Shionogi in 2012. GSK said the revised structure removes a put‑option liability linked to Pfizer’s stake, while Shionogi framed the expanded holding as reinforcing its long‑term commitment to HIV and infectious disease therapeutics. ViiV’s portfolio includes multiple antiretroviral therapies and long‑acting regimens marketed globally for the treatment and prevention of HIV.
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