Sanofi to buy Genzyme for $20.1 billion

French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA on Wednesday agreed to buy Genzyme Corp with a sweetened $20.1 billion cash offer, plus payments tied to the success of the US biotech group’s drugs, the companies said on Wednesday.

French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA on Wednesday agreed to buy Genzyme Corp with a sweetened $20.1 billion cash offer, plus payments tied to the success of the US biotech group’s drugs, the companies said on Wednesday.

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Sanofi will pay $74 a share in cash and offer a tradable contingent value right, or CVR, whose value will depend on Genzyme’s experimental multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada and production of two other medicines.

The deal’s announcemen marks the second-biggest in biotech history and will help Sanofi offset declining revenue from drugs that have lost, or are set to lose, patent protection.