Sanofi buys Genzyme for over $20 bn

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Aventis says it has agreed to buy Genzyme for $74 a share in a deal that values the U.S. biotechnology company at $20.1 billion.

Sanofi-Aventis says in a statement on Wednesday that it also agreed to make additional cash payments to Genzyme shareholders contingent on the success of several of the company's drugs.

Genzyme is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Last month, Genzyme had entered into a confidentiality pact permitting Sanofi Aventis, the world's fourth-largest pharmaceutical company, to examine its books and conduct due diligence.

Genzyme had said it will provide information on its profit margins, price lists, customer and supplier lists, purchase orders, financial projections and other information to Sanofi.

Sanofi-Aventis, which has a significant presence in India and employs over 1,800 people in the country, has been pursuing Genzyme since last summer, offering a price of $18.5 billion. (With PTI inputs)