(This Oct. 14 story has been refiled to remove a picture)
PARIS (Reuters) – The French government needs guarantees from drugmaker Sanofi that production of its popular Doliprane painkiller will stay in France to allow the sale of its consumer health branch to go ahead, Economy Minister Antoine Armand said on Monday.
Sanofi said on Friday it had entered talks to sell a controlling 50% stake in its Opella business – whose brands include Doliprane – to U.S. private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, but unions fear job cuts due to this.
Doliprane, an over-the-counter painkiller, is France’s best-selling drug and news that it could be partially sold to a foreign investor has prompted political concerns, in a first test case for the new government on industrial policy.
Lawmakers from across the political spectrum railed against the potential sale, and some from President Emmanuel Macron’s party demanded stronger guarantees that French interests would be protected.
“If the sales goes ahead – I want to be extremely clear, we will demand extremely precise, strong and tangible conditions,” Armand told journalists during a visit to a Doliprane production site in Normandy, western France.
“They must be respected and we will ensure they are respected using all the legislative and regulatory tools at our disposal,” Armand added.
Junior industry minister Marc Ferraci said the conditions covered job and production volume guarantees as well as commitments to maintain research and development in France and keep using French suppliers.
Armand said the government could block the deal if its conditions were not met and said it was even possible for the state to take a shareholding to protect France’s interests.
Finance Ministry sources said that discussions underway included the options of the BPI state investment vehicle taking a stake or holding a golden share, granting the state special powers over other shareholders.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas, Additional reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Bernadette Baum)
