The government of France is taking a small stake in Sanofi’s consumer healthcare business as the French pharmaceutical group nears a politically sensitive deal to hand control of the unit to US private equity group Clayton, Dubilier & Rice which values it at €15.5bn.
Economy minister Antoine Armand said on Sunday that state-investment bank Bpifrance would take a stake in the division known as Opella, following a backlash from across the political spectrum over the US approach and its possible implications, including for jobs in France.
Bpifrance’s holding will amount to 1 per cent, a person familiar with the talks said, enough to give it an Opella board seat. Le Figaro newspaper reported the stake sale earlier and said that C, D & R — which beat an offer led by French rival PAI in an earlier round of the sale process — would take 51 per cent in Opella, as the pair near exclusive talks over the deal.