[xtypo_dropcap]P[/xtypo_dropcap]aris-based pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis SA said Monday that its $18.5 billion bid to purchase U.S. biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. will be extended for more than a month.
Aventis originally gave Genzyme a deadline of this month to accept the offer, but has since revised the deadline to Jan. 21, 2011, the company said. Aventis wrote a letter to Genzyme’s board this summer to express an interest in buying the company, but the two sides have so far disagreed over the value. Analysts say that much disagreement has been over potential value of the multiple sclerosis drug Campath.
According to MarketWatch, activist shareholder and Genzyme board member Carl Icahn has stated that Aventis’s bid is below market value. Other investors seem to agree, as part of the reason for the buyout offer extension is due to the fact that not enough shareholders have warmed up to the bid.
Aventis originally gave Genzyme a deadline of this month to accept the offer, but has since revised the deadline to Jan. 21, 2011, the company said. Aventis wrote a letter to Genzyme’s board this summer to express an interest in buying the company, but the two sides have so far disagreed over the value. Analysts say that much disagreement has been over potential value of the multiple sclerosis drug Campath.
According to MarketWatch, activist shareholder and Genzyme board member Carl Icahn has stated that Aventis’s bid is below market value. Other investors seem to agree, as part of the reason for the buyout offer extension is due to the fact that not enough shareholders have warmed up to the bid.
Friends Read Free