Reuters first with news of Genzyme agreeing to takeover deal terms with Sanofi

Reuters broke the news on January 31 that U.S. biotech Genzyme and France’s Sanofi-Aventis had reached an agreement in principle on the terms of a takeover deal for Genzyme, capping more than five months of drama in this $18.5 billion acquisition saga. Shares in Genzyme jumped 3 percent on the exclusive Reuters report that the deal structure would likely include an additional payout for Genzyme’s experimental multiple sclerosis drug and that a final agreement could be reached within a week or two. Dow Jones picked up the Reuters story, while the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Bloomberg took hours to independently confirm the report.