Genzyme bidder Sanofi tells Reuters staggered M&A idea interesting

Reuters subscribers got valuable insight into Sanofi-Aventiss thinking on Dec 1 when the CFO of the French drugmaker, which is seeking to buy Genzyme, said the idea of staggered takeover payments was interesting in principle. So-called contingent value rights (CVRs) have been mooted as a way to break the deadlock in the $18.5 billion takeover battle. Jerome Contamines remarks to Reuters at an industry conference were the first comments on the issue from Sanofi. Bloomberg matched the story two hours later, while Dow Jones was unseen. The Reuters report was picked up widely on Twitter, blogs and by financial news service theflyonthewall.com.