Acquisition of Sanofi’s Zentiva is Completed by Advent International

Effective from Sept. 30, 2018, the divestiture of the European generic-drug business of Sanofi-Zentiva-to Advent International has been completed, as revealed in a press release published Oct. 1, 2018.

The transaction, which was initiated earlier in the year by Advent and Sanofi, has completed ahead of schedule for €1.9 million (approx. US$2.21 million). Negotiations for the deal were finalized on Jun. 28, 2018, with the companies signing a Share Purchase Agreement and have now undergone all relevant consultations and customary closing conditions.

Commenting on the initiation of exclusive negotiations for the deal, Olivier Brandicourt, chief executive officer of Sanofi stated, “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 generics unit in Europe, we have determined that transferring this business to Advent is the best option to ensure its long-term success.”

In the same press release, 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, made a joint statement, revealing, “We have long been attracted to the generic 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.”

This divestiture has formed part of Sanofi’s plans to simplify and reshape the company, removing ‘non-core’ businesses.

 Source: Sanofi