Sanofi, Genzyme May Reach Deal in One Week (SNY, GENZ)

Sanofi-Aventis SNY and Genzyme GENZ have agreed to a deal in principle, and the deal may actually be finalized in a week, according to the Wall Street Journal. Genzyme has previously rejected the $69 per share offer for the company, and wanted closer to $80 per share, but according the the Journal, the bridge has been gapped recently. The cash portion of the deal may go to as high as $75 per share, and the contingent value right (CVR), may be an additional $5-$10 per share, according to Reuters. "If Genzyme is opening its books to Sanofi, it means that there is an agreement on price, or at least a very narrow range subject to adjustment following due diligence findings," said Lionel Melka, co-manager of Bernheim, Dreyfus & Co's Diva Synergy Fund. There is a February 15 deadline for the deal to get done, and it could get done sooner than that, perhaps in the next week, according to sources close to the situation. The CVR is mostly over Genzyme's multiple sclerosis drug, Lemtrada, which some believe the market will give a huge discount to. Yesterday the two companies announced that Genzyme had entered into a nondisclosure agreement with Sanofi.