(Bloomberg) -- Sanofi is aiming to sign an agreement this weekend to sell control of its consumer health business to Clayton Dubilier & Rice, following a last-ditch attempt by a rival bidder to derail the deal, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The French pharmaceutical group’s board is scheduled to meet to discuss the planned transaction and finalize measures with CD&R to protect jobs and local plants, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Sanofi could announce the deal with buyout firm CD&R as soon as early next week, according to the people.
The consumer health unit, known as Opella, is set to be valued at around €15 billion ($16.3 billion), Bloomberg News has reported. Sanofi confirmed last week it’s in talks to sell a 50% controlling stake in the business to CD&R, which beat out PAI Partners in the year-long bidding process.
After Sanofi’s decision, the PAI-led consortium unexpectedly submitted an improved offer for Opella with additional pledges around jobs and investments.
That prompted a statement from Sanofi saying that all candidates had the same opportunity to submit their best offers by the deadline. The French company said it’s “surprising that a ‘revised offer’” was made public through the media, “outside the timeframe and the governance process that framed the decision.”
Deliberations are ongoing, no final decision has been made and the negotiations could still drag on longer than expected, the people said. Representatives for Sanofi and CD&R declined to comment. PAI Partners couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Any deal will still subject to regulatory approvals in France. Finance Minister Antoine Armand has said the commitments the government demands on the Opella deal will be “very precise” and “include guarantees, sanctions, and the means to take stakes.” The ministry will launch an investment screening procedure and may ask state-owned investment firm Bpifrance SACA to take a stake, or consider a so-called golden share.
--With assistance from Swetha Gopinath.
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