C zech finance firm PPF, a privately held investment group has agreed to sell its shares of generic drug maker Zentiva. Zentiva had been working on a deal for the takeover of the company by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi-Aventis. Sanofi’s bid which was scheduled to expire February 20th, was contingent upon them acquiring at least 50% of Zentiva’s shares.
The sale by PPF, valued at nearly € 1.8 billion, gives Sanofi the needed shares and clears the way for Zentiva’s sale. The European Commission’s approval came early in February, making it all but a done deal.
PPF Investments in Zentiva (www.ppf.cz)
PPF Group, with Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA, previously attempted a joint takeover of Zentiva with a bid of CZK 950 per share. The bid was declined by Zentiva’s management which was countered with a PPF lawsuit. The legal filing sought to have the company’s management replaced but that lawsuit failed. PPF then filed a petition with the district court in Amsterdam to try and block the sale by forcing an EGM to convene. After a general meeting called by Zentiva, PPF decided to withdraw it’s petition and agreed to the Sanofi purchase.
Zentiva (www.zentiva.cz)
Zentiva N.V. is an international pharmaceutical company based in the Czech Republic. They employ nearly 6,500 people at plants in Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, and their native country. Zentiva offers its mainly generic pharmaceutical products in Russia, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and the Baltics. Their primary growth strategy has been to increase the availability of their products all across Central & Eastern Europe, by focusing on primary care physicians and their patients.
Sanofi-Aventis (www.sanofi-aventis.com)
Sanofi-Aventis is a global pharmaceutical company with operations on six continents. They provide a broad range of medicines, vaccines, and health care solutions which can be adapted to local means. Sanofi recorded sales of € 27.6 billion in 2008 and invested € 4.6 billion in research and development.
They are the largest pharmaceutical concern in Europe as well as the growing markets of Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and Russia.
