Opella, the Sanofi subsidiary specializing in non-prescription products and in particular Doliprane, will be sold well – up to 51%, according to the Figaro – basically American CD & R, but will also be the subject of a tripartite agreement including the State. This is what the Minister of the Economy, Antoine Armand, announced this Sunday, October 20 in the evening, assuring on “guarantees” on employment, production and development of the subsidiary. “The State, via Bpifrance, will be a shareholder to ensure this,” he added, confirming a information you Figaro published earlier this evening. According to the daily, the board of directors of Sanofi was to record this Sunday its entry into exclusive negotiations with CD & R, but also to ratify the conclusion of an agreement providing for the State to enter into the capital of the entity, and above all to be able to sit on the board of directors.
With what weight? During an exchange with the press this Sunday evening, Bercy did not confirm the information from Figaro according to which Bpifrance’s participation would amount to 1% of the capital, which is estimated at 15 billion euros. “But for the State, having a representative on the board of directors makes it possible to monitor the proper fulfillment of commitments, added Bercy. He is an in situ witness with voting rights. This will give full effectiveness to these commitments, which are associated with heavy financial sanctions.”
“Commitment to invest”
The commitments in question relate to the origin of the “active ingredients used by Opella factories”, and “production commitment in France”, and “commitment to serving the French market” and a “commitment to invest, to grow (…) that is to say that the buyers come to inject money for new production lines”, according to the Ministry of Industry.
The improved offer, announced Thursday, from another takeover candidate, the French investment fund PAI Partners, backed by international investors, was therefore unsuccessful. CD & R, with which Sanofi entered into discussions on October 11, is a large American fund which has invested in France for around fifteen years (notably in Rexel, Spie, Socotec, But and Conforama) and supports several pharmaceutical companies such as Inizio and Sharp. The pharmaceutical group has ensured since day one that “this project will have no impact on employment in France” and that it aims to grow Opella by relying on a financial partner ready to invest in this market closer to mass consumption than to pharmaceutical activity.
The unions fear a «social coffers» in the 1,700 jobs Opella has on French soil, including 480 on its Compiègne (Oise) site and 250 in its Lisieux (Calvados) factory, dedicated to the best-selling drug in France.
Source: www.liberation.fr
