After more than half a century in the fold of Sanofi, Doliprane is preparing to leave its parent company to strike out on its own. The pharmaceutical laboratory announced on Friday October 27 its intention to separate from its consumer health activity, which includes its medicines sold without a prescription, including its famous brand of paracetamol, and its food supplements. This declaration, welcomed by investors, was however not enough to dispel the market headache caused by another announcement from the group: the abandonment of its objective of achieving an operating margin of 32% in 2025. On the stock market, the stock lost nearly 19% during the day.
The proposed split of the consumer health division, which has thirteen production sites around the world, including two in France, in Lisieux (Calvados) and Compiègne (Oise), 11,000 employees, approximately 125 brands, and weighs 5. 1 billion euros in turnover is not a surprise. In 2019, the announcement of the creation of an autonomous commercial entity, housing under the same banner all the non-prescription medicines and food supplements sold by the group, sowed doubt. In 2022, that of the transfer of the headquarters of this subsidiary, from Gentilly (Val-de-Marne), where the headquarters of Sanofi France is located, to Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine), has finally convinced the last skeptics.
The decision presented on Friday nonetheless created a shock wave among employees, who were still hoping for a reprieve of a year or two. “ The employees don’t understand. Only a few days ago, Sanofi announced a new investment of 20 million euros in Lisieux, where Doliprane is manufactured, and today they discovered that the group is selling their factory. Some employees were in tears this morning”says a union source within Opella, the holding company which brings together the laboratory’s consumer health activities.
The conditions of the announcement offended the employees, who denounced the “Anglo-Saxon culture” instilled by management in recent years. “ We discover Sanofi’s projects in the press. There was no prior information communicated to employees. This is a total lack of respect for the group’s employees. »takes offense to this same source.
Employee fears
Sanofi provided few details on the terms of the divorce, which should be ratified “no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2024”. If he specifies to study “possible separation scenarios », a preference seems to be emerging for an IPO through a company whose headquarters would be located in Paris. An option which is reminiscent of the choice made by the laboratory, in 2022, when it shed part of its chemistry to create a European champion of active ingredients, Euroapi.
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