A group of US investors have sold shares in Euroapi, the pharmaceutical ingredients business of Sanofi, following it spin-off in Paris last week, raising €85.1m.
Launched after the market close on Wednesday evening, the placing consisted of 6.4m shares, a 6.4% stake in Euroapi. The selling shareholder was JP Morgan, on behalf of Sanofi’s American Depositary Receipt (ADR) holders, who received Euroapi stock as part of the spin-off.
JP Morgan was global coordinator. BNP Paribas and Bank of America was bookrunner.
The books were covered inside half an hour, following a wall-crossing exercise after launch, according to sources close to the deal. The transaction was subsequently priced at €13.30, a discount of 3% to the closing price of the stock on the day.
Sanofi successfully listed Euroapi in Paris on May 6, despite a volatile market backdrop in the wake of last Wednesday's US Federal Reserve meeting.
The EuroStoxx 50 is teetering on bear market territory, having fallen 18% this year. Volatility has also surged once again in recent days amid concerns about inflation and slowing Chinese growth because of the country’s strict zero Covid policies.
France’s CAC 40 is down 15.4% year-to-date.
Euroapi’s stock has held up well since it listed, despite the turbulent conditions in equity markets. As of Thursday afternoon, the company was trading at around €13.45, up 12% from the €12 reference price in the spin-off, valuing the company at €1.3bn.
Sanofi distributed 58% of the stock to its shareholders via a dividend in kind. The ratio was one Euroapi share for every 23 Sanofi shares already held.
L’Oréal, Sanofi’s largest shareholder, has committed to a one-year lock-up on its stake following the listing.
BNP Paribas, Bank of America and JP Morgan were the lead advisers to Sanofi and Euroapi on the listing. Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Natixis and Société Générale were additional advisers.