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Wednesday, October 26, 2011

GSK wants next bids by mid-Nov in OTC sale-sourc​es, (NYSE: GSK), (NYSE: ITUB)

GlaxoSmithKline Plc is hoping to receive second-round offers for a clutch of its non-prescription drugs by mid-November as it targets a year-end conclusion of the bidding process, sources involved in the situation said.Private equity firms largely dominating the process are still challenged to fund large deals at a decent price in the current tough debt markets, although confidence has slightly improved following the Sarkozy-Merkel meeting last weekend.Bain Capital and Blackstone , which has partnered with Prestige Brands , are seen as the front-runners and most likely participants for the second round of the sale.Uncertainty over diet pill Alli, which accounts for around a third of the portfolio's sales, and the scattered nature of the businesses have made the sale complicated to execute, the sources said.

Shares of GSK traded higher by 0.73% or $0.32/share to $44.33. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $36.28 and as high as $45.34. On average, 3621240 shares of GSK exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1599116.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. is a bank in Brazil. The Company has four operational segments: Commercial Banking, Itau BBA, Consumer Credit and Corporate and Treasury. Shares of ITUB traded higher by 0.44% or $0.08/share to $18.27. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $14.47 and as high as $26.30. On average, 19445500 shares of ITUB exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 4816270.