The deal will diversify the French beauty giant’s funding sources at a time when the industry is undergoing a slowdown.

L’Oréal’s stake in Sanofi will drop to 7.2% of its share capital. L’Oréal has agreed to sell 29.6 million Sanofi shares back to the pharmaceutical company for $105.34 (€101.5) per share, totalling $3.

Cosmetics giant L’Oreal SA is selling a €3 billion ($3.1 billion) stake in Sanofi back to the French drugmaker, cashing in part of its holding after Sanofi’s shares outperformed the market over the past year.

The beauty giant said the transaction – selling approximately 29.6 million of its Sanofi shares for €101.5 per share – will ‘optimise’ the group’s balance sheet