2024-10-16 05:25:00
“I have launched work on Sanofi which requires an exhaustive assessment of all the public support measures from which the company has benefited over the last ten years”declared the minister, questioned before the National Assembly on the anticipated sale of this consumer health entity by Sanofi to the American investment fund CD&R.
“Because yes, we support businesses, yes, we support employment and industry, but this cannot be done anyhow and under any conditions”he said.
The French pharmaceutical group announced on Friday that it had chosen the CD&R fund to potentially cede control of Opella. This operation raises strong concerns among employees and political leaders for issues of health sovereignty and jobs.
The possible passage of Doliprane under the American flag is “the symbol of the total failure of Emmanuel Macron’s industrial policy”asserted Tuesday the leader of the CGT, Sophie Binet, deploring that Sanofi had benefited from“one billion research tax credits in 10 years” while dividing “the workforce in France has doubled, particularly researcher jobs”.
Mr. Armand, who visited the Doliprane production site on Monday in Lisieux (Calvados), repeated the “very specific commitments” discussed with the stakeholders of the transaction in terms of job retention, industrial footprint, headquarters location and research and development.
“French anchor”
“We are ready to request sanctions and the study of an investment” public “so that these commitments are kept”he repeated. Moreover, “the entire procedure for controlling foreign investments” in France will be mobilized if the sale were to be confirmed, he insisted.
Asked in the evening in Les Echos about a possible stake in Opella by a public actor such as the public investment bank Bpifrance, the chairman of the board of directors of Sanofi, Frédéric Oudéa, assured that “all subjects are on the table”.
“But the most effective option is the commitments that we will make. Sanofi is a responsible player who has always taken into account its French roots”says the leader.
Frédéric Oudéa believes that the “Sanofi’s decision to retain 50% of the capital” during the operation is the “guarantee” of this “anchoring” in France, notably by giving his group “a right of veto on major strategic decisions”. “The sale of Opella is a story of growth. (…), not a story of restructuring”he adds.
Concerning the aid received by Sanofi, the group specified that it benefits from “100 million euros” tax credit for “2.5 billion euros invested each year in research and development in France”. “What makes Sanofi the country’s leading investor in R&D”according to a spokesperson.
Opella markets around a hundred brands other than Doliprane, which is not known outside France.
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