PARIS (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi said it had made a $3.2 billion offer to buy U.S. biotech company Translate Bio, as it bets on next-generation mRNA technology after setbacks in the COVID-19 vaccine race. In a statement that confirmed an exclusive report by Reuters, Sanofi said it would acquire all outstanding shares of Translate Bio for $38.00 per share in cash, representing a total equity value of about $3.2 billion for Translate Bio. The boards of both companies had approved the deal, the firm added. “Translate Bio adds an mRNA technology platform and strong capabilities to our research, further advancing our ability to explore the promise of this technology to develop both best-in-class vaccines and therapeutics,” Chief Executive Paul Hudson said. Reporting by Matthias Blamont and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Clarence Fernandez Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.