After months of courting U.S. drugmaker Genzyme, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis launched a hostile bid valued at approximately $18.5 billion, or $69 a share, for all outstanding shares of Genzyme common stock.
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis announced a 10-year agreement with Covance on Thursday under which the Princeton, N.J.-based contract research firm will provide it with drug development services. Sanofi-Aventis will pay Covance between $1.2 billion to $2.2 billion.
Sanofi-Aventis, which has been unsuccessful recently in its courtship of U.S. giant biotech Genzyme, announced another setback today. A late-stage trial of NV1FGF did not meet its primary goal of preventing a major amputation or death from any cause over 12 months.
Sanofi-Aventis CEO Chris Viehbacher said Wednesday that he believes his French pharmaceutical company will eventually buy U.S. biotech company Genzyme at a reasonable price. However, he expects it will take some time to agree on a deal, and he won't rush into anything.
Drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb plans to buy ZymoGenetics, its partner in developing a hepatitis C treatment, for $885 million. The move is part of a trend of pharmaceutical acquisitions as several big patents face expiration soon.
After a couple of fairly sleepy years, mergers and acquisition activity has bounced back dramatically, with potential long-term consequences for the stock market. It's a rare ray of hope at a time when other economic indicators are pointing straight toward the floor.
One of the most interesting merger and acquisition sagas of the past month is no doubt Sanofi-Aventis' courtship of rare-disease biotech firm Genzyme. As Genzyme rejects Sanofi's $18.5 billion offer, could a hostile bid be next?
Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis is unwilling to pay more than $70 a share in its bid to buy biotech firm Genzyme, media outlets reported Wednesday. If a deal can't be reached, the French drugmaker may consider alternative takeover targets.
Several biotech stocks were on the move Monday after Deutsche Bank started rating them. The bank's analyst, Robyn Karnauskas, took a generally wary view on the biotech sector, putting buy ratings only on Gilead and Dendreon.
French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis sent a letter to major U.S. biotech firm Genzyme proposing a friendly takeover valued at $69 a share, or $18.4 billion. But that's a lot less than $80 a share, or $21.3 billion, that sources say Genzyme is looking for.
On Thursday, Sanofi-Aventis reported its second-quarter net profit rose 7.6% to 2.48 billion euros, beating expectations. But the French drugmaker warned that earnings may fall for the full year, and it remained silent about its rumored plan to make a friendly bid for Genzyme.
Is Genzyme for sale? There's still no official confirmation, but Genzyme shares continued to rise on speculation the pharma firm may be a takeover target. Sanofi is a likely buyer, but other suitors are said to be waiting in the wings.