French drug maker Sanofi Aventis ADR (NYSE: SNY), the fourth largest pharmaceutical company in the world, has agreed to raise Genzyme (NasdaqGS: GENZ ) bid to lower $70s, according to sources. The exact bid price has not yet been disclosed. The increase in bid came after Genzyme sharing its non-public documents with Sanofi-Aventis on Monday.
Sanofi-Aventis has been trying to acquire Genzyme Corp. for the past five months. On December 13, 2010, Sanofi extended its $18.5 billion offer. But Genzyme said that it will reject the offer, as it believed that its shares are worth more than what was offered by Sanofi-Aventis.
Industry analysts expected Sanofi-Aventis to raise the cash portion of its bid to anywhere in the range of $72 to $75 per share, with an additional contingent value right (CVR) payout valued as much as $5 to $10 per share over time based on the performance of Genzyme's experimental multiple sclerosis drug, Lemtrada.
Bloomberg reported the total value would be in the range of $76 or $77 per share, including the potential future payout.
A deal is expected to be finalized in the next week or so, ahead of a Feb 15 deadline for Sanofi's tender offer to shareholders, reported Reuters.
Shares of Genzyme added 0.22 points or 0.31 percent to settle at $73.57 on the Nasdaq Composite Index, Tuesday. Shares of Sanofi gained 1.63 percent in Paris.
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