Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the commencement of an underwritten public secondary offering of its common stock through which Sanofi intends to exit its investment in Regeneron shares. The shares being offered by Sanofi will be sold in an underwritten public offering.
Sanofi currently holds approximately 23.2 million shares of Regeneron’s common stock, representing approximately 20.6% ownership. The registered offering and share repurchase will have no impact on the ongoing collaboration between Regeneron and Sanofi.
Subject to and immediately following the close of the secondary offering, Regeneron agreed to repurchase approximately $5 billion of common stock directly from Sanofi. Regeneron will fund the purchase with a combination of $3.5 billion of cash on hand and $1.5 billion of fully-committed bridge financing from Goldman Sachs Bank USA.
Sanofi will continue to own approximately 400,000 shares of Regeneron’s common stock, which Sanofi is retaining in support of the ongoing collaboration with Regeneron.
Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, Sanofi:
Sanofi and Regeneron’s collaboration has been one of the most productive in the industry, creating significant value for both companies but more importantly, resulting in five important medicines for patients. Sanofi remains committed to continuing our collaboration with Regeneron which remains an integral part of our overall strategy, and this decision was fully aligned with Regeneron. The decision to divest our holdings is consistent with our efforts to enhance value creation for our shareholders. We believe the proceeds from this transaction will help further our ability to execute on our strategy to drive innovation and growth.
The transaction has been approved by Sanofi and Regeneron’s Boards of Directors.