the PAI Partners fund outbids the Americans of CD&R to buy the Sanofi subsidiary

According to information from Mondeconfirming those published by Le Figarothe Paris-based investment fund PAI Partners sent a new offer to Sanofi, Thursday October 17, for the purchase of its subsidiary Opella, which manufactures Doliprane. PAI Partners, which had been excluded from the race, is this time offering an amount 200 million euros higher than their previous attempt.

The offer remains valid until Sunday evening, while negotiations initiated between Sanofi and the American investment fund CD & R continue with a view to the sale of the pharmaceutical group’s subsidiary dedicated to non-prescription drugs.

At the same time on Thursday, employees at several Doliprane production sites responded to the unions’ call for a strike, despite attempts by the government and the French pharmaceutical giant to reassure them about their future. Before the start of the social movement, the president of Sanofi France, Audrey Duval, guaranteed Thursday on RTL the “sustainability” jobs, production sites and Doliprane, while the Opella subsidiary should be sold to an American investment fund.

On the Sanofi site in Mourenx (Pyrénées-Atlantique), which employs around sixty employees and operates 24 hours a day, the call to strike is manifested by successive walkouts, during each working time slot. The unions have also planned a rally on the site of the Compiègne factory (Oise) between 1 and 3 p.m., with the arrival of the New Popular Front deputy François Ruffin.

Sanofi France “guarantees the sustainability” of jobs

Asked about the fears of unions regarding the anticipated sale of this entity of non-prescription consumer products, which markets around a hundred brands, including Doliprane, M^me Duval said Thursday morning ” to understand [leurs] concerns ». “We hear them (…). It’s normal that they have these questions since, in fact, we are in the middle of an operation which has not been finalized. So the social dialogue and the negotiation process have not started”declared Audrey Duval.

“I guarantee Doliprane in pharmacies for the French”as well as the “sustainability of jobs and sites” of production in France on “several years”she said, while the CFDT and CGT Sanofi unions called on Wednesday for a renewable strike starting Thursday. The unions fear a « social coffers » among the 1,700 jobs Opella has on French soil, including 500 on its Compiègne (Oise) site and 250 in its Lisieux (Calvados) factory, entirely dedicated to Doliprane. The strike will be particularly followed on these two sites, according to the unions.

In this possible transaction, the outlines of which are currently being discussed, “Sanofi will remain a 50% shareholder”which gives it a “right of veto over extremely strategic decisions of the group, such as Doliprane”stressed M^me Duval. She insisted that Opella’s headquarters, management team and employees at its French sites ” stay[aient] In France “.

The entry of a public actor into the capital of Opella “on the table”

This week, the government asked stakeholders for guarantees in terms of maintaining employment, industrial footprint, location of headquarters and research and development. “Our objective is not to block the sale, it is to obtain written commitments through dialogue. And if we cannot obtain written commitments, we do not prohibit ourselves from using all the other levers”repeated Maud Bregeon, government spokesperson, on Sud Radio on Thursday.

In the opposition, calls to block the sale are becoming urgent. The Landes deputy, Boris Vallaud (Socialist Party), recalled, on Public Senate, that the State had the tools to “enforce” : “The Montebourg decree can be used, can go from establishing conditions to prohibiting the sale. » “If we want to guarantee our sovereignty, there is the possibility of using the Montebourg decree to block the sale”also estimated on Franceinfo the coordinator of La France insoumise, Manuel Bompard.

Interviewed Tuesday in Les Echos on a possible entry into the capital of a public actor such as the public investment bank Bpifrance, the chairman of the board of directors of Sanofi, Frédéric Oudéa, assured that « all subjects [étaient] on the table ». Bpifrance, “this is not our preference”Audrey Duval said Thursday.

Opella has produced up to 450 million boxes of Doliprane in 2023 for the French market and 20 million euros are currently invested in the Lisieux site to increase production by 140 million boxes per year from 2026. Doliprane is 97% sold in France, a country which only represents around 10% of Opella sales and its second largest market behind the United States. In addition to Doliprane, Opella markets the brands Dulcolax, Lysopaïne, Maalox and Novanuit in France.