French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) has agreed to buy Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) for $20.1 billion in cash, plus payments tied to the success of the company's drugs, the companies said on Wednesday. Sanofi will pay $74 a share in cash and a contingent value right for the U.S. biotechnology company. The CVR is a tradable right to additional payments if Genzyme's multiple sclerosis drug, Lemtrada, reaches regulatory and sales targets or 2011 production volumes of Cerezyme and Fabrazyme are achieved. Sanofi said the deal would boost business net earnings per share from the first year following its completion, which it expects early in the second quarter, and also predicted it would lift its earnings by 0.75-1.0 euro per share by 2013.
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