Sanofi has chosen US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to advance acquisition talks for its consumer health unit, the pharma confirmed Friday.
The company says it entered into negotiations with CD&R to sell a 50% controlling stake in its consumer health business, Opella. Reports say the firm’s offer values that 11,000-person business at €15.5 billion (roughly $17 billion). Sanofi is ultimately looking to offload its remaining share in the company in the next few years, according to the Financial Times.
Consumer health divestments have been all the rage for pharmaceutical companies in the last couple of years. Johnson & Johnson spun out its unit into Kenvue in August 2023, which currently has a market cap north of $40 billion. Earlier this month, Pfizer sold off a $3.3 billion stake in Haleon, a consumer venture partnered with GSK.
Opella is the third-largest player in the over-the-counter and vitamin, mineral and supplements market, according to Sanofi. The portfolio includes over 100 brands, including household names like Icy Hot and the allergy medicine Allegra.
Sanofi reported that the Opella business rose nearly 10% in the second quarter, thanks largely to the acquisition of Qunol. The supplements and vitamins brand includes the antioxidant CoQ10 and other turmeric-based products. Opella represented about 13.3% of Sanofi’s total business through the first half of the year, the remainder coming from the biopharma segment.
François-Xavier RogerCFO François-Xavier Roger said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call in July that the company was mulling three options: a spinout, an IPO or a sale. He conveyed that as of that point, all options were still on the table.
“The game is still totally open as we speak with one objective, which is value creation for shareholders,” he said. The two main considerations then were valuation and the “execution risk,” he added.
Sanofi said Friday that more updates on the sale will be provided in the future, “when a decision is made.”