Czech drugmaker Zentiva agrees to Sanofi-Aventis buyout bid

Sep 22, 2008, 9:05 GMT

Prague - Czech generics maker Zentiva said Monday it has agreed to a nearly 2-billion-dollar buyout bid by Sanofi-Aventis after the French pharmaceutical group raised its offer by 9.5 per cent.

Sanofi-Aventis, Zentiva's largest shareholder with a 24.9-per-cent stake, sweetened its initial bid by 100 koruny to 1,150 koruny per share (70 dollars), Zentiva said.

Zentiva said the offer represents a 26-per-cent premium over its share price on April 30, before the original bid, and recommended the buyout to other shareholders.

'We believe that the raised offer represents attractive value for Zentiva shareholders, especially in the light of the current market turbulence,' board chairman and executive manager Jiri Michal said in a statement.

Michal and other Zentiva managers have agreed to sell Sanofi-Aventis their shares amounting to about 5.7 per cent in the company.

Zentiva's stock rose more than 5 per cent Monday, trading on the Prague Stock Exchange for 1,144 koruny per share, slightly below the offered price.

Monday announcement followed a bidding war between Sanofi-Aventis and the second biggest shareholder, Czech financial group PPF.

PPF, which holds 19.2 per cent in the drug maker, offered 950 koruny per share but was trumped by Sanofi-Aventis' first bid. Zentiva management then held out for more.

The raised offer, under which the French pharmaceutical group is seeking to buy at least 50 per cent in Zentiva, is valid through November 28.

Outside the Czech Republic, the generics maker is active in Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Russia and Turkey.