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SmithKline in Block race
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October 6, 2000: 3:51 a.m. ET
U.K. drug company is leading contender to buy maker of Sensodyne toothpaste
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LONDON (CNNfn) - SmithKline Beecham PLC is a leading contender to buy Sensodyne toothpaste maker Block Drug Co. for about $1.2 billion, seeking to add the U.S. company's oral hygiene products to its Aquafresh, Macleans and other toothpaste brands, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Block (BLOCA: Research, Estimates) put itself up for sale earlier this year, retaining Goldman Sachs Group as an advisor. Along with SmithKline, parties interested in buying the New Jersey-based company include several financial buyers and possibly an unidentified consumer products maker, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Spokesmen for both SmithKline (SB-) and Block declined to comment.
London-based SmithKline, a maker of goods from prescription medicines to consumer health products, is in the process of merging with its U.K. counterpart Glaxo Wellcome (GLXO) to form what would be the world's largest drug company, with a market capitalization of about £125 billion ($181 billion).
Block, which is 70 percent owned by its founding family, has expanded in recent years via acquisitions in areas such as cleaning products and prescription and over-the-counter medicines.
Final bids in the auction for Block were due earlier this week, the Journal reported. The U.S. company's shares have risen 11 percent this week in anticipation of a deal.
SmithKline stock fell 0.6 percent to 925 pence in London early Friday. Block rose $2.31 to 50.25 in the U.S. Thursday. 
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