PARIS (Reuters) -A consortium led by French private equity firm PAI Partners has submitted a new, higher offer for Sanofi’s consumer health business Opella, a source close to the matter said on Thursday, confirming reports in French media.
PAI is seeking to outbid U.S. rival Clayton Dubilier & Rice for a controlling 50% stake in Opella, the maker of one of France’s most-sold painkillers, Doliprane.
The source said the PAI-led consortium had hiked its bid by 200 million euros ($217.2 million) in a revised offer sent earlier on Thursday to Sanofi’s Chairman Frederic Oudea.
They declined to elaborate on the exact price offered for the stake in Opella, which is valued at more than 15 billion euros.
Sanofi could not immediately be reached for comment by telephone or email.
The company said last week it was in talks with CD&R for the sale of 50% of Opella, triggering criticism from both the right and left of France’s political spectrum.
($1 = 0.9204 euros)
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Dominique Patton; Editing by Mark Potter and Jan Harvey)
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