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* Sanofi mulls fate of 200 older drugs including Plavix
* Portfolio has sales of 2.1 bln eur, enterprise value 6.3bln eur
* Sanofi also held talks with TPG and Warburg Pincus
* Sanofi says no decision has yet been made
* Some 2,600 staff potentially concerned in Europe (Adds Sanofi and union comment)
By Natalie Huet
PARIS, July 16 (Reuters) - Sanofi has held talkswith Abbott Laboratories, Mylan and privateequity firms over the possible sale of a 6.3 billion euro ($8.5billion) portfolio of mature drugs, according to an internaldocument seen by Reuters.
The 25-page document, a copy of which was circulated by theCGT union on Wednesday, details a plan presented to thecompany's investment committee on May 6 dubbed the "Phoenixproject".
It shows Sanofi is considering whether to sell, carve out orcreate a joint venture for a portfolio of some 200 mature drugsthat includes blood thinner Plavix, anti-epileptic Depakine andantibiotic Pyostacine.
The portfolio currently accounts for annual sales of about2.1 billion euros but these are projected to drop by two-fifthsin the next decade as European countries tighten healthcarebudgets and impose lower drug prices.
No decision has yet been made on the portfolio, a Sanofispokesman said.
"Materials and studies on different topics are regularlypresented to the investment committee, and it doesn't alwaystake action or render decisions based on presented materials,"he said in an emailed statement.
Reuters had reported in April that Sanofi was looking tosell a multi-billion portfolio of mature products, as drugmakersworldwide seek to shed non-core assets and focus on high-growthareas.
The Phoenix project aims to minimise exposure to price cuts,reduce Sanofi's manufacturing in Europe and free up cash,according to the document. It would concern six manufacturingand distribution sites and some 2,600 staff in Europe, mainly inFrance, Spain, Italy and Germany.
The document shows that as of May, Sanofi had begun talkswith Abbott, Mylan and private equity firms TPG and WarburgPincus as potential buyers or venture partners.
It adds that Pfizer, Otsuka and Teva were not interested in the portfolio, while talks withAstraZeneca and GSK were still pending.
The CGT union said in a statement it planned to bring thedocument to the attention of the French government to denouncewhat it called Sanofi's "capitalist Monopoly game" and toprotect local jobs.
"It shows that management's strategy is to withdraw fromEurope and particularly from France," the union said.
Drug companies are increasingly looking to shed smallerdivisions they view as non-core so they can better focus ontheir mainstay products. They have also shown willingness toconsider large asset swaps with rivals to exit weaker businessesand reinforce core areas where they are already top players. ($1 = 0.7388 Euros) (Editing by James Regan; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
