Sanofi’s CFO Says Genzyme Offer Is ‘Very Good Price’

Sanofi-Aventis SA’s $69-a-share offer for Genzyme Corp. is a “very good price,” Sanofi Chief Financial Officer Jerome Contamine said today.

“Our price is a very good price, compelling,” Contamine said as he left a Financial Times drug-industry conference in London. He declined to comment on whether Sanofi will extend the offer, which expires Dec. 10.

Genzyme Chief Executive Officer Henri Termeer said in an interview published Nov. 26 by Le Figaro that a provision known as a contingent value right, under which the price would depend on the performance of Genzyme’s Campath drug, could be discussed with Sanofi or another bidder.

Such a structure can help bridge valuation gaps, Contamine said, while declining to comment specifically on its possible use in the Genzyme deal. “It’s interesting in principle,” he said today. “It’s a tool that exists.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Albertina Torsoli in London at atorsoli@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Phil Serafino at pserafino@bloomberg.net