Sanofi Refiles $3.2B Translate Bio Buyout With FTC

Sanofi and Translate Bio are refiling paperwork on their US$3.2 billion merger to give the agency more time to review.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Translate Bio said that after discussion with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Sanofi withdrew and refiled its proposed buyout “in order to provide the FTC with additional time to review the proposed acquisition and information recently provided to them.” Sanofi and Translate Bio struck the buyout deal in early August, and the companies refiled their paperwork August 27 after Sanofi and the FTC held “informal discussions,” the filing stated. 

The companies “continue to expect to complete the transaction” subject to any FTC requirements, Translate’s filing stated.

Sanofi and Translate Bio first teamed up on the biotech’s mRNA tech back in 2018, reported Fiercepharma. At the time, Sanofi paid US$45 million to start a three-year partnership that would focus on up to five infectious diseases. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed mRNA tech into the global spotlight, and successful vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are rolling out across the world and generating tens of billions of dollars.

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