Pharmaceutical group Sanofi confirmed on Monday that it is joining forces with 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 50% controlling stake in Opella”, we read in 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 points out. The public investment bank “Bpifrance should participate as a minority shareholder with a stake of approximately 2%”, specifies Sanofi in its press release.
“Creating a global French champion of consumer health”
Sanofi is expected to remain “a significant shareholder” in this project.
“Sanofi can now focus even more on innovative solutions to provide plates to patients suffering from debilitating or fatal diseases such as RSV (main virus responsible for bronchiolitis, ed.), COPD (smoker’s bronchitis, ed.) or sclerosis” , Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson was quoted as saying in the press release.
CD&R, for its part, 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 global French champion of consumer health”.
The project of this transfer arouses strong emotion in public opinion and in the political class because it concerns a basic drug used by a large number of French people.
The State was discussing with Sanofi to define some conditions related to this acquisition in order to ensure the maintenance of health safety guarantees.
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