Sanofi to Divest European Generics Business in Deal Worth $2.4 Billion

On April 17, 2018, Sanofi announced that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Advent International, a global private equity investor, for Advent to acquire Zentiva, Sanofi’s European generic-drug business for EUR 1.9 billion (USD$2.4 billion). The company reports that Advent’s offer is firm, binding, and fully financed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2018.

Advent will work collaboratively with Sanofi to form a new independent operation and will support the Zentiva management team to invest in the company’s operations, production facilities, and R&D pipeline.

“Zentiva is a robust business with a highly talented workforce, and we believe it has demonstrated its potential for growth. Following a comprehensive review of strategic options for our generic unit in Europe, we have determined that transferring this business to Advent is the best option to ensure its long-term success,” said Olivier Brandicourt, CEO, Sanofi, in a company press release.                                  

“We have long been attracted to the generics pharmaceutical sector as it enables more people to access high quality treatments by lowering their cost.  We believe that Zentiva is a great platform, full of talented people, who we can invest behind to build a new, independent, European generics leader,” said both Tom Allen, managing director and co-head of Advent International’s European Healthcare team, and Cédric Chateau, managing director and head of Advent International in France, in the company press release.

Zentiva, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, serves more than 40 million patients in 25 European countries and is considered one of the largest generic-drug players in Europe, according to Sanofi. The business has manufacturing facilities in Prague and in Bucharest, Romania.

Source: Sanofi