The pharmaceutical group Sanofi confirmed on Monday that it was joining forces with the American investment fund CD&R to potentially cede control of its subsidiary Opella, which markets Doliprane, for an enterprise value of around 16 billion euros.
"Sanofi and CD&R have entered into exclusive negotiations for the potential sale and acquisition of a controlling stake in Opella of 50%," according to a press release from the French group, which specifies that CD&R's offer is "firm and fully financed."
Opella's valuation is based on an enterprise value of around 16 billion euros, Sanofi emphasizes.
The public investment bank "Bpifrance should participate as a minority shareholder to the tune of approximately 2%", Sanofi specifies in its press release.
In this project, Sanofi should remain "a significant shareholder".
"Sanofi can now focus even more on innovative solutions for patients suffering from debilitating or fatal diseases such as RSV (the virus that causes bronchiolitis), COPD (smoker's bronchitis) or multiple sclerosis," said Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson, quoted in the press release.
CD&R aims to "accelerate" the growth of Opella, which owns 115 brands worldwide and has 11,000 employees in around 100 countries, and to "create a French global champion in consumer healthcare".
The plan for this sale has aroused strong emotion among public opinion and the political class because it concerns a basic medicine used by a large number of French people.
The State has been in discussions with Sanofi to define certain conditions linked to this acquisition in order to ensure that the guarantees for health safety were maintained.
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