Zentiva says $2B Sanofi bid undervalues firm

Czech generic drugmaker Zentiva has updated shareholders on its rejection of French drug major Sanofi-Aventis' 1.6 billion-euro ($2.33 billion; Marketletter July 21) bid for the firm.

Jiri Michal, Zentiva's chief executive, said: "the Sanofi offer fails to reflect the unique strategic position that we have built in the central and eastern European generics space over the last three years. It also fails to capture the significant improvement in operational and financial performance or the growth prospects which were reflected in our strong first-half 2008 results. The board therefore strongly recommends that shareholders do not accept the Sanofi offer."

Zentiva's sales rose 32.3% year-on-year during the period, reaching 9.0 billion koruna ($5.28 billion), with net profit up 18.8% to 987.5 million koruna. Its Turkish and Romanian businesses have begun to produce profit during the six-month period.