GlaxoSmithKline has steady debut

Drugs giants Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham have finally completed the merger which creates the UK's third biggest company.

It has taken 11 months from announcement of the deal to Wednesday's debut for the new shares on the London and New York stock exchanges.

The new company - called GlaxoSmithKline - has a market value of about £115bn, similar to that of BP, and second only in size to Vodaphone.

Headquartered in London, and with a large base of UK shareholders, it will make up about 7% of the FTSE 100 index.

But the company got off to an inauspicious start on the London Stock Exchange, losing 18p to 1830p in the first hour and a half of trade.

Jean-Pierre Garnier will head the new company

The initial slide seemed to reflect the low key launch of the company, which has not yet found itself a logo.

The stock bounced back during the day and ended at 1877p, below last week's finish for Glaxo Wellcome of 18.48.

Top drugs

The merged group brings together a host of top drugs for aids, diabetes and asthma, has a leading position in the vaccines market and a strong presence in the consumer healthcare market.

But the Financial Times reported on Wednesday that the company was being hit by a series of failed drugs developments, as well as suffering from the sell-offs required to appease competition authorities.

"The company has no drug in late-stage development considered to have blockbuster sales potential," wrote the UK newspaper.

One year on

The 'merger of equals' has taken almost a year to complete, winning EU approval in May, shareholder approval in August, and the final go-ahead from the US competition authorities earlier this month.

After close scrutiny the US Federal Trade Commission decided that a sell-off of drugs which help smokers to quit was unnecessary, but said it would continue to review that market after the merger.

The completed merger creates the world's leading drugs group by market share.