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

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

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.

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.