Sanofi confirms “finalizing” discussions with the American fund, despite the new offer from French PAI Partners

The new offer from the French fund PAI Partners will not change Sanofi’s choice in the sale of its subsidiary Opella which markets Doliprane. The president of the pharmaceutical group, Audrey Duval, announced Saturday October 19 that Sanofi is finalizing discussions in this matter with the American fund CD&R, in an interview published in the Picard mail.

“Following a traditional process, a partner was identified ten days ago. We are finalizing discussions with him. It’s a growth project”assured M^me Duvald. Sanofi announced on October 11 that it was negotiating with the American investment fund CD&R in order to potentially sell it 50% of Opella, its subsidiary which markets around a hundred brands of over-the-counter products around the world, including Doliprane. But this announcement quickly took a political and social turn.

The unions fear a « social coffers » for the 1,700 jobs Opella has on French soil, including 480 in Compiègne (Oise) and 250 in Lisieux (Calvados). A strike movement was notably launched in the two factories on Thursday and Friday. At Mourenx (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), a site which employs around sixty employees and operates twenty-four hours a day, the strike manifests itself in successive walkouts, during each working time slot.

“Written commitments”

Based on this challenge, the consortium led by the French investment fund PAI Partners – supported by the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, ADIA, the Canadian pension fund BCI and the Singaporean sovereign fund, GIC – had filed a new offers to the board of directors of the French laboratory, increasing the amount proposed during its previous attempt by 200 million euros.

This new offer also provided for the assurance of maintaining employment at a constant level on the two French industrial sites of Opella, in Compiègne (Oise) and Lisieux (Calvados), accompanied by a promise of investment to the tune of 60 million euros over five years.

But this new proposal was quickly rejected by Sanofi. As of Thursday evening, the pharmaceutical laboratory was surprised by an offer submitted “ outside of the deadlines and the governance process that governed the decision”before recalling that the candidates had “all had the same opportunity to submit their best offer” within the allotted time.

For several days, the government has been trying to reassure about the future of the French Opella sites by increasing the number of declarations on the written commitments requested from stakeholders in terms of jobs and security of supply. But the executive, which still displays its desire for reindustrialization, does not want to scare off foreign investors either.

“This government is committed to maintaining Doliprane in France”assured Wednesday the Minister of the Economy, Antoine Armand, adding that “maintaining employment is the absolute priority and will not be negotiable”. More “if we really want France to be at the forefront of research, of industry, to be sovereign over all health technologies but not only that, do we collectively believe that we can do without public and funding and private? »he asked. “Our objective is not to block the sale, it is to obtain written commitments through dialogue”Maud Bregeon, government spokesperson, summarized Thursday.