Sanofi-Aventis chief Chris Viehbacher has lived up to his threat: this morning the French drugmaker told investors he had launched a hostile takeover of Genzyme, a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This means Sanofi will try to bypass Genzyme’s board of directors, which has resisted the takeover, by presenting its $18.5 billion offer directly to shareholders.

Viehbacher (shown at right) had alluded to the move over a month ago, in the hours after Genzyme’s board of directors rejected Sanofi’s first public offer to buy the company. “We place value on the ability to engage in a constructive dialogue,” he said on 30 August. “However we are prepared to consider all alternatives to complete this transaction.” (For more, see our 8 September Business Watch column.)

Since then, Viehbacher says he has canvassed Genzyme’s shareholders and found that over half are eager for a sale. Last week, rumours were flying that Sanofi was about to sweeten its offer, but it sounds like Viehbacher is still not ready to offer Genzyme’s shareholders more money. “There’s no one else bidding and there’s no new information,” Viehbacher said. “So you can hardly expect us to bid against ourselves.” (AP)

Genzyme’s board urged shareholders not to take action on Sanofi’s offer, and said it would review this latest development within the next ten days. Genzyme’s offer expires on 10 December.

Image: Sanofi-Aventis