GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s, GSK, sale of a clutch of non-prescription drugs is set to be a protracted affair, as potential buyers contend with tough financing conditions and fret about prospects for some of the products in the portfolio.

The slow-running process serves as yet another example of how the crisis in the euro zone is freezing financing markets and hampering M&A across the region, with a handful of deals postponed or pulled in recent weeks.

Any delay to the sale, which analysts had initially said could raise between 1.5 billion and 2 billion pounds ($2.3-3.1 billion), or 3 to 4 times sales, could be significant because the cash could help underpin GSK’s planned share repurchase program in 2012.

Second-round bids in the auction run by Goldman Sachs (GS.N) are expected in late October, though a precise date has yet to be communicated to the shortlisted parties, sources familiar with the situation said.

“It’s a tricky one to execute, the portfolio is very scattered with many drugs with revenues less than 1 million euros,” one source close to the situation said.

“The process has constantly been delayed since the beginning because the sale is more complicated than initially expected,” a second source said.

A GSK spokesman said the sale of the non-core over-the-counter (OTC) products, which range from painkillers and vitamin supplements to the weight-loss pill Alli, remained on track but declined to comment further.

Some believe the price could be less than initially hoped for given the uncertainty about prospects for Alli, which accounts for around a third of the portfolio’s sales.

“Although pharmaceutical companies are used to this kind of risk, Alli is clearly a hurdle, the second source said.

Jobless claims, GDP data ease economic fears

The chances of the economy averting a new recession got a boost, with claims for jobless benefits falling to a five-month low last week and growth a touch stronger in the second quarter than previously estimated.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 37,000 to 391,000, the Labor Department said, well below economists’ expectations for 420,000. But the department cautioned that the way it adjusts the data for seasonal fluctuations may have overstated the strength.

Separately, the Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the second quarter, up from the previously reported 1.0 percent. Consumer spending and export growth both were stronger than earlier estimated.

“When you connect these data points together, they indicate a very tepid recovery. We are still experiencing positive growth, which is better than we feared a few months ago,” said Paul Ballew, chief economist at Nationwide in Columbus, Ohio.

The cautious optimism generated by Thursday’s data was tempered somewhat by a report showing the housing sector remained on the rocks last month.

Stocks on Wall Street were mostly higher on the data and growing confidence in Europe’s response to its debt crisis. The dollar fell against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. government debt dropped.