Sanofi Completes €10 Billion Sale of 50% Stake in Opella to CD&R, Sharpening Focus on Biopharma

On April 30, Sanofi announced that it had completed the transaction to sell a 50.0% controlling stake in its consumer health business, OTC (EuBile), to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (hereinafter referred to as CD&R). Sanofi will retain a significant 48.2% stake in EuBile. Bpifrance (French National Investment Bank) will hold 1.8% of EuBile’s shares and will join the board of directors.

Sanofi stated that through this transaction, Sanofi has transformed into a company focused on biopharmaceuticals, with its strategic focus centered on groundbreaking scientific research. The company is committed to developing innovative drugs and vaccines, continuously pushing the boundaries of medicine. The transaction has been completed according to the previously disclosed terms, with Sanofi receiving approximately 10 billion euros in net cash proceeds.

Eurialle, headquartered in France, was previously part of Sanofi's Consumer Healthcare (CHC) business unit. With over 60 years of establishment, the company has more than 11,000 employees, 13 advanced production bases, and four R&D centers dedicated to scientific innovation. It operates in approximately 150 countries worldwide. Boasting over 100 brands, including Allegra, Doliprane, Dulcolax, Novanight, and IcyHot, Eurialle has become the third-largest enterprise in the global over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and vitamins and minerals supplements market, serving more than 500 million consumers globally.

Selling such an old over-the-counter pharmaceutical company was not a spur-of-the-moment decision by Sanofi.

As early as 2019, media reports indicated that voices within Sanofi were calling for a spin-off of the consumer health business. In addition, at that time, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson proposed the "Play to Win" strategy, which aimed to enhance the company's competitiveness and market position by optimizing resource allocation and focusing on the research and development of innovative drugs and vaccines.

In October 2023, Sanofi China mentioned in a WeChat post, "The 'Full Force to Win' strategy will continue to focus on key objectives, committing to the successful launch of transformative drugs and vaccines, as well as the agile and efficient deployment of resources to enhance R&D productivity." This indicates that Sanofi is channeling funds through this strategy and focusing resources on core businesses and high-quality pipelines.

In October 2024, Sanofi officially announced for the first time that it had entered into negotiations with CD&R regarding the potential sale of its equity in OPI LE. In February 2025, Sanofi further announced the sale of a 50% controlling stake in OPI LE to CD&R, with the transaction expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025. In May 2025, this acquisition was officially finalized, resulting in Sanofi gaining approximately 10 billion euros in net cash proceeds.

For Sanofi, the sale of its OBI Pharma shares is an important step in its transformation into a biopharmaceutical company.In the future, Sanofi's strategic focus will be on groundbreaking scientific research, committed to developing innovative drugs and vaccines. Sanofi Chief Financial Officer Francois Roger stated that the company will transform into a "pure biopharmaceutical enterprise" in the future, focusing on the research, development, and sales of prescription drugs.

In addition to this strategic shift, the sale of OBI Pharma's equity has also brought a substantial amount of capital to Sanofi, supporting its frequent strategic moves in the pharmaceutical industry in recent years.In recent years, Sanofi has completed major transactions in the pharmaceutical field, including the acquisition of rare disease company Genzyme (2011, $20.1 billion), the acquisition of Bioverativ spun off from Biogen (2018, $11.6 billion), the acquisition of Translate Bio (2021, $3.2 billion), the acquisition of Provention Bio (2023, $2.9 billion), and the acquisition of Inhibrx (2025, $1.7 billion).

Overall, after securing substantial funding, Sanofi's next step is to "explore external growth opportunities and pursue bolt-on acquisitions" to drive organic growth through R&D and other internal investments. Additionally, Sanofi will strengthen its "dividend policy" and expand its share repurchase program. This indicates that, in the future, Sanofi will consolidate its position in the pharmaceutical industry through a combination of internal and external strategies.

Not only Sanofi, but also top MNCs such as Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., GSK, and Pfizer have divested non-core businesses like consumer healthcare in recent years to focus on their "core" biopharmaceutical operations.

For example, in 2019, GSK merged its consumer healthcare business with Pfizer's to form Haleon; in 2020, Merck announced the spin-off of its women’s health products, established products, and biosimilar products into a newly independent publicly listed company, Organon, and in 2021, announced the separation of Organon; in 2023, Johnson & Johnson completed the spin-off of its consumer health business, forming a new independent company, Kenvue.

In addition to these overseas MNCs, dozens of Chinese pharmaceutical companies such as WuXi AppTec, Hutchison China MediTech, Shinva Medical Instrument, Luoxin Pharmaceutical, Guangji Pharmaceutical, Unnamed Pharmaceutical, Tongcheng Pharmaceutical, Jiuzhoutong Pharmaceutical, Changbao Shares, Jingtong Pharmaceutical, Renfu Pharmaceutical, China Resources Sanjiu, and Yibai Pharmaceutical have implemented "slimming down" strategies in recent years, including divesting overseas assets, cutting pipelines, terminating non-core businesses, and selling subsidiaries.

In fact, "focusing on core businesses" has already become a key issue across the entire industry, especially in the pharmaceutical field, which requires significant investment and offers long return cycles. In many companies' announcements regarding asset sales, phrases such as "optimizing resource allocation," "improving asset quality," and "enhancing operational efficiency" are repeatedly mentioned. Sanofi's "Play to Win" strategy includes elements like "optimizing resource allocation, deploying resources with agility and efficiency, and increasing R&D productivity."

The intent behind these announcements is self-evident: companies should gradually divest non-core assets and focus more on their main businesses.After divesting non-core businesses and focusing on their main operations, what have been the results for MNCs? According to the 2024 Q3 annual financial reports, the revenue and revenue growth rate of the Top 10 MNCs showed a clear upward trend. In terms of R&D investment, which is directly related to costs, although the overall amount is still increasing, the proportion of investment has slightly decreased. Thus, it appears that MNCs have already seen initial revenue growth after shedding non-core businesses.

Moreover, in the long term, enterprises choosing to divest assets is a strategic move for future planning. In the current situation, not only the pharmaceutical sector but also the entire global economy is facing significant challenges. Pharmaceutical companies opting to monetize non-core businesses can achieve two goals: obtaining substantial cash flow to support their upcoming strategies and better focusing on high-growth potential areas within the pharmaceutical industry after "streamlining." This allows them to develop core medicines for sustainable revenue. Undoubtedly, this approach presents an effective solution to navigate through a downturn cycle.

References:
1. "Sanofi to Sell Opella, GSK, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson... MNCs Divesting Consumer Health Businesses Becoming a Trend?"
2. "Selling Factories, Hospitals, and Subsidiaries, Pharmaceutical Companies Slam the Brakes on 'Diversification'!"