Sanofi Seeks To Win Over Aventis Shareholders

French drugs group Sanofi-Synthelabo has sought to win over shareholders from rival French-German firm and takeover target Aventis. On a charm offensive to build support for its 48-billion-euro bid, Sanofi chief executive Jean-Francois Dehecq said the hostile takeover of the bigger company would "speed up the growth of major products, combine marketing and commercial forces and maximize the launch of the two groups' products." Sanofi said it was not going to raise its bid for Aventis, which many analysts consider too low and described by Aventis as "laughable."