PPF leaves Zentiva to Sanofi

PPF Group has bowed out of the competition for the Czech generics maker Zentiva, saying it has "certain doubts about the real value of the company"--and that it doesn't want to end up in a bidding war with Sanofi-Aventis. The news prompted Sanofi to reiterate its 1,050 koruna-per-share offer, which values the company at $2.69 billion.

No word yet from Zentiva management, who quickly rejected PPF's lower offer--950 koruna--and, after some deliberation, came out against Sanofi's, too. As you know, Sanofi already owns 25 percent of Zentiva, while PPF together with an Italian insurer holds 19 percent.

- check out PPF's release
- read the story at MarketWatch

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