French pharma giant Sanofi is selling off its consumer healthcare business Opella. US-based investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is

Sanofi spins out its consumer healthcare business

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2024-10-30 21:30:07

French pharma giant Sanofi is selling off its consumer healthcare business Opella. US-based investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) is to take a controlling 50% stake, while Sanofi will retain a 48% interest. The remaining shares are being sold to France’s state-owned investment bank Bpifrance in a move that the French government hopes will keep Opella’s headquarters in the country.

Opella’s portfolio covers a range of over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements and includes well-known brands like Allegra (fexofenadine) and France’s best-selling drug Doliprane (paracetamol). The company operates 13 manufacturing sites and four research and development centres and employs over 11,000 people globally. An announcement by Sanofi and CD&R noted that the deal values Opella at €16 billion (£13.3 billion) and would be concluded in the second quarter of next year at the earliest.

‘We share the love and emotional attachment to Opella’s brands, hence our decision to remain vested in its future. We will support Opella on its path to become an independent company, grounded in talented people, a deep consumer expertise and a truly global presence with deep roots in France,’ said Sanofi’s chief executive Paul Hudson. ‘Our chosen partner CD&R has demonstrated unique capabilities in the consumer space, with deep values of respect for employees, customers, communities in which they operate, and the environment.’