According to reports, Sanofi has approached Solvac, the family-owned holding vehicle that controls 30% of Solvay, and made an offer of E7.2 billion or E85 per share for the pharmaceuticals division. But Solvay has rejected the offer as it believes the company is worth in excess of E100 per share.
It is believed that Bayer, Sanofi-Aventis, Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca and Merck KgaA are also contending to acquire Solvay’s pharma division. Solvay, however, believes that its rich pipeline of drugs in late-stage development may fetch a good offer as most of the drug majors are reportedly facing patent expiry on some of their most cash-generative treatments.