Genzyme available for ‘fair value’, says Termeer

pharmafile | September 2, 2010 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing Genzyme, Sanofi-Aventis 

Genzyme’s chief executive Henri Termeer has said his company could be for sale to Sanofi-Aventis if it offers a ‘fair price’.

The US biotech has twice rejected an $18.5 billion offer from Sanofi, prompting speculation the pharma company will mount a hostile takeover.

Speaking to Reuters, Genzyme’s Termeer said his company was “not for sale at $69 a share […] what the shareholders deserve is fair value.”

But he added: “I think a hostile situation is unlikely to occur here, we need each other too much in terms of future value. It may well be that they go that way, but I would recommend against it if I were advising the other side because it is not the way to get this done.”

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Termeer concluded: “A deal will only get done when the strategic value of the company is properly recognised.”

This is the biggest hint yet that Termeer would be willing to sell Genzyme, the company he helped build from its inception in 1983, to the French pharma giant.

Sanofi’s chief executive Chris Viehbacher has previously said he prefers to make multiple smaller M&A deals, but his company does have the cash available to make a large purchase.

It is also one of the last big pharma companies not have made a major biologics acquisition, though plans to expand its manufacturing in the area. Earlier this year the company set aside 150 million euros for a major expansion of its biologic manufacturing capabilities in France over the next four years.

Ben Adams

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