Sanofi Shares Climb Amid Rumors of Pfizer Interest

Shares in French drugmaker sanofi-aventis are up 2.1% Tuesday amid ongoing speculation the company may be the target of a takeout bid by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Other rumors have Pfizer buying a large stake in sanofi from oil giant Total S.A. and cosmetics company L'Oreal, which jointly own about 23% of the company. In an Oct. 9 research note, Natixis analysts told clients: "The question (of a takeover), iconoclastic not long ago, is now being openly asked." They said Pfizer's future is at stake due to declining sales and very few products in the final development stage. "Sanofi-Aventis is the most plausible target for Pfizer." Acquiring sanofi, with its $117 billion market cap, would be a major deal for Pfizer, which itself boasts a $176 billion capitalization. "It would seem to make sense from a therapeutic perspective," Deutsche Bank's Mark Purcell commented. "The cardiovascular franchise would sit quite nicely with that of Pfizer and the CNS (central nervous system) business fits in with where Pfizer's research is trying to re-emerge. It makes sense -- but it's just a rumor at the moment and it would be a very large acquisition." Sanofi shares gained 1.8% on Monday.

Sources: MarketWatch, Reuters
Commentary: Bristol-Myers Shares Look Good Despite Analyst Skepticism -- Bloomberg • Sanofi-Aventis's Earnings Hurt by Generic Competition
Stocks/ETFs to watch: SNY, PFE, TOT

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