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