Sanofi CEO Seeks Talks With Medivation Over $9.3 Billion Offer
April 29 2016 - 6:00AM
Dow Jones News
PARIS—Sanofi SA Chief Executive Olivier Brandicourt said Friday
that he hoped Medivation Inc. management would come to the
negotiating table in coming weeks after he went public with an
unsolicited offer worth $9.3 billion for the U.S. biotech firm.
Medivation, a Nasdaq-listed company that focuses on
hard-to-treat cancers, rebuffed a recent takeover approach by the
French drugmaker.
"I hope that Medivation's management will constructively engage
in the coming weeks," Mr. Brandicourt told reporters. "I went
public with the offer because I wanted shareholders of both
companies to be aware of our proposal," he said.
Sanofi is under pressure to launch new innovative medicines to
make up for declining revenue in its all-important diabetes market,
after its blockbuster Lantus insulin went off patent in the
U.S.
The French drugmaker said Friday that diabetes drug sales, which
account for about 20% of the company's revenue, fell 6% to €1.73
billion ($1.97 billion) in the first-quarter, hurt by a 12% drop in
Lantus sales.
Higher biotech revenue and emerging markets, however, helped
push total net profit 6% higher to €1.09 billion for the three
months through March from €1.02 billion a year earlier.
Genzyme, Sanofi's biotech unit, posted a 16% jump in revenue to
€1.37 billion, boosted by sales of its multiple sclerosis
treatment, Aubagio. Sales of consumer health care products fell 8%
to €905 million while vaccines sales increased 5% to €625
million.
Business net income, the company's term for adjusted income
excluding the impact of acquisitions and divestments, declined 0.2%
to €1.72 billion, above analysts' expectations of €1.69 billion.
Sanofi's total sales fell 3% to €7.78 billion.
Sanofi said it still expected its business earnings per share to
remain "broadly stable" in 2016 at constant exchange rates,
"barring unforeseen major adverse events."
Write to Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2016 05:45 ET (09:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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