Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Sanofi in talks to sell generics arm to Advent for 1.9 billion euros

1309840
1309840
minus
plus

PARIS: French healthcare group Sanofi is in exclusive talks to sell its Zentiva European generics drugs arm to private equity firm Advent International for 1.9 billion euros (£1.64 billion), the companies said.


Sanofi said the sale was expected to be completed before the end of the year, and Advent’s offer was binding and fully financed. The 1.9 billion euros price is an enterprise value, including equity and debt.


The planned Zentiva sale follows a move by UK group Shire this week to sell its oncology business to unlisted French drugmaker Servier for $2.4 billion.


Sanofi has been reshaping its business in recent months, spending more than $16 billion to buy biotech company Ablynx and US haemophilia specialist Bioverativ, but also selling off some assets.


This week, it sold some brands to Charterhouse Capital Partners’ Cooper-Vemedia drugs manufacturing arm for 158 million euros.


“Following a comprehensive review of strategic options for our generics unit in Europe, we have determined that transferring this business to Advent is the best option to ensure its long-term success,” Sanofi Chief Executive Olivier Brandicourt said in a statement.


Sanofi shares were down 0.3 per cent in early session trading.


“The sale price is decent, but nothing that extraordinary. Sanofi will probably re-invest the proceeds in looking to make pharma or biotech acquisitions. They are looking to strengthen their pipeline, which is a bit weak at the moment,” said Jerome Schupp, fund manager at Geneva-based Prime Partners, which does not hold Sanofi shares at present.


The planned sale of Zentiva began in October after Sanofi spent more than a year carving out the division to create a stand-alone company that could be sold to one of its competitors or to an investment fund. — Reuters


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon