She was not very well known to the general public. For Biogaran employees, however, it is the most reassuring offer because it is French. Established in the Rhône, the pharmaceutical company Benta Lyon submitted a takeover offer on Saturday to buy Biogaran. One in eight boxes of medicine is sold under its brand in pharmacies in France. Owned by the Servier group, the number one generic in France represents less than a quarter of the turnover of the pharmaceutical giant, which wishes to separate from it to concentrate on other activities.
According to an expert in the pharmaceutical sector, the buyout proposal submitted to the Lazard bank is between “between 800 and 900 million euros”. An amount “higher” than the offers of the two Indian pharmaceutical groups, Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Aurobindo Pharma, also candidates for this takeover. The British investment fund BC Partners is also in the running. The deadline for submitting offers, which was set for June 11, has been extended.
Benta, which took over the Famar site in Saint-Genis-Laval, near Lyon in 2020 at the helm of the commercial court, produces and markets medicines, including generics, as well as medical devices. The share of generics represents 30% of its activity at present. The company counts among its clients the giant Sanofi, the Delbert laboratories and the American Procter and Gamble.
What if the State got involved?
In addition to generics and essential molecules, Benta Lyon also manufactures convenience products, including paracetamol, in its Saint-Genis-Laval factory.
Benta Lyon, which belongs to the French holding company Benta SAS, owned by Lebanese investor Bernard Tannoury, has 118 employees and forecasts 24 million euros in turnover this year.
Faced with a risk of relocation of production, the French executive has reserved the possibility of activating the procedure for controlling foreign investments in France in the event of a possible takeover of Biogaran by a foreign actor.
