Private equity investor Advent International has picked up another piece of Sanofi that it is shedding as the French drugmaker sharpens its focus on branded drugs. After laying out $2.2 billion for Sanofi’s generics operation Zentiva last year, it has followed up with a much smaller deal.
Sanofi India today announced the sale of a manufacturing plant in Ankleshwar, Gujarat to Advent’s Zentiva for Rs 2,617 million ($36.5 million). The 32-year-old plant produces intermediates and formulations and has an annual capacity for more than 6 billion tablets.
“Sanofi’s long-term strategy is to focus on manufacturing Sanofi branded products. Given that the two companies share similar values and commitment towards serving patients and their employees, the Board of Directors of Sanofi India Limited approved this transaction in the long-term interest of all stakeholders.” Rajaram Nayayanan, managing director of the Sanofi company, said in a statement.
The Ankleshwar plant, the oldest of Sanofi India, produces products such as pain reliever Combiflam, hay fever treatment Allegra and diabetes treatment Amary. Production of those drugs will be transferred to other Sanofi plants, the company said.
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Advent, which buys pharma and other businesses globally, last year completed a $2.2 billion deal for Zentiva, after Sanofi looked for a buyer for a couple of years. Sanofi had acquired control of the Czech generics operation in 2008 for $2.6 billion.
Advent has been mentioned as among potential buyers for assets that GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer will shed to satisfy regulators as they prepare to merge their consumer drug businesses later this year.