Doliprane, the best-selling drug in France, will be able to come under the control of the American investment fund CD&R: the pharmaceutical group Sanofi formalized on Monday its choice to sell it 50% of its subsidiary Opella which produces the painkiller, an operation in which the State says it has obtained "extremely strong" guarantees.
"Sanofi and CD&R have entered into exclusive negotiations for the potential sale and acquisition of a controlling stake in Opella of 50%," the French group confirmed, stressing that CD&R's offer is "firm and fully financed."
This information led to the announcement of the suspension of the strike, which has been underway since Thursday, by the CGT and CFDT unions at Sanofi.
At the Opella sites in Lisieux (Calvados), dedicated to the manufacture of Doliprane, the strike was extended until Friday, but temporarily suspended in Compiègne (Oise).
"We are in the second phase, that is to say the phase of negotiations with the investment fund and Sanofi", for the maintenance of social benefits and jobs, estimated Adil Bensetra, deputy coordinator of the CFDT Sanofi Compiegne.
– “Patient culture” –
"Here the strike continues, these announcements do not meet our expectations, as the minister said, we are waiting for concrete actions," declared Monday afternoon to the AFP Frederic Debeve, CGT union delegate at Opella in Lisieux, where 250 jobs are located.
"We have no information from the national leadership, we learn everything through the press, we must stop taking us for fools," he said angrily. "These announcements do not meet our expectations (...) we are waiting for concrete actions."
Opella's valuation is based on an enterprise value of around €16 billion, the pharmaceutical giant said, a year after announcing its intention to separate from its subsidiary of over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, minerals and food supplements.
"When Bpifrance is present on the company's board of directors, we are vocal (...) if governance goes off the rails," he warned.
– Put the pressure on –
Around thirty employees welcomed the president of the finance committee of the National Assembly, LFI MP Aurelie Trouve, in the rain in front of the Lisieux factory early in the afternoon.
"To enter the capital at the level of 2% is derisory (...) either we really enter to be majority, or not at all", estimated Ms Trouve, saying she wanted to "put pressure" on Mr Armand "during his hearing on Thursday in committee".
Sanofi is expected to remain a shareholder with around 48% for the time being.
Thanks to this operation, the group will be able to "focus even more" on innovative drugs and vaccines to become "a pure player" in biopharmaceuticals, "a world leader in immunology", according to Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson during a press briefing.
The potential buyer CD&R, which has been investing in France for around fifteen years (notably in Rexel, Spie, Socotec, But and Conforama), aims to "accelerate" the growth of Opella, which owns 115 brands worldwide and has 11,000 employees in around 100 countries.
This proposed sale has aroused strong emotion among the public and the political class because it concerns a basic medicine used by a large number of French people to relieve pain and fever.
– “Sanctions regime” –
The tripartite agreement between the State, Sanofi and CD&R, announced Sunday evening by the government, includes "the sustainability of the production sites of Lisieux and Compiègne", the maintenance of the headquarters and research and development activities in France, and the protection of employment.
This agreement is "extremely demanding" with "extremely strong guarantees" underlined Mr. Armand, hammering home that the State remained on its guard without "any form of naivety".
The agreement guarantees "the maintenance of minimum production volumes in France for Opella's sensitive products", namely Doliprane (paracetamol), Lanzor (for digestive disorders) and Aspegic (aspirin), specified Messrs. Armand and Ferracci.
Among the commitments is an investment target in France, set at 70 million euros over five years in total.
The agreement provides for financial penalties "of up to 40 million euros" in the event of a production shutdown at Opella's two French sites and "100,000 euros per job lost through forced redundancy."
A penalty of up to 100 million euros is stipulated in the event of failure to "maintain Opella's supply from French suppliers and subcontractors" such as the chemist Seqens.
"40 million to stop a relocation is useless if this relocation brings in 3 or 4 billion to the company," denounced Aurelie Trouve.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025 at the earliest.
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