(updates with analyst comments, background)
By Jana Mlcochova
PRAGUE, Oct 1 (Reuters) - A private shareholder has raised
its stake in Czech drug maker Zentiva <>, challenging
French suitor Sanofi-Aventis <SASY.PA> which is bidding to take
over the Czech generics firm.
Belviport Trading Ltd., a closely-held firm whose owners
remain anonymous, raised its holding in Zentiva to 10.06 percent
from 6.08 percent, a regulatory filing in Netherlands, where
Zentiva is registered, showed on Wednesday.
The announcement that Belviport is building up its stake
came a day after Zentiva's second-largest shareholder, financial
group PPF and its insurance joint venture with Italy's Generali
<GASI.MI>, raised its stake to 21.59 percent from 19.23 percent.
Patented drugsmaker Sanofi, Zentiva's largest shareholder
with 24.9 percent, is bidding to gain a controlling stake in the
company through a 1,150-crowns-per-share bid that values Zentiva
at 43.86 billion crowns ($2.53 billion).
The acquisition would help Sanofi gain a stronger foothold
in the field of unpatented medicines, an area previously shunned
by large pharmaceutical companies, which is now receiving
attention as a way to tap booming emerging markets.
Zentiva, which focuses on cardiovascular, nervous system and
pain treatments, is the dominant Czech drug firm and also has
factories in Romania and Turkey.
The Sanofi bid will only succeed if the firm raises its
stake above 50 percent. Analysts said this could get tough due
to the hoarding of stock by Belviport and other shareholders.
"Clearly Sanofi is squeezed into a position in which it will
have a problem to gain 50 percent," said Petr Bartek, an analyst
at Ceska Sporitelna.
Milan Vanicek, an analyst at Atlantik FT, said Sanofi, which
makes a wide range of treatments including blood-thinner Plavix
and anti-thrombotic drug Lovenox, may be forced to raise the
offer again to succeed.
"I can only speculate, but they are financial groups and a
target of any financial group is to make a quick profit, which
they can manage by indirectly making Sanofi raise the offer,
among other ways," he said.
Another big shareholder in Zentiva is Czech-Slovak financial
group J&T's unit Frevent Holdings, which holds a 7.6 percent
stake.
PPF, Belviport and J&T have yet to declare their intentions
with regard to their respective stakes.
Zentiva's management, which controls 5.9 percent, is backing
the Sanofi bid and has pledged to sell its shares in the
offering.
PPF RESURFACING
PPF started a bidding war over Zentiva in May, when it said
it would bid 950 crowns per share.
It withdrew the offer after Sanofi counterbid 1,050 crowns a
share. Sanofi later raised its bid to 1,150 crowns and extended
the offer period until Nov. 28.
Sanofi's higher bid looked like it would be successful, but
the recent purchases of the other shareholders has raised new
question marks.
The Sanofi bid has underpinned the stock at a time when
stock markets plunged globally amid the spreading credit crisis.
It has been trading just below the bid price at 1,130 on
Wednesday.
A Sanofi spokesman said the French company has noticed
changes in the shareholdings but had no comment on either
Belviport or PPF building up their stakes.
(Additional reporting by Jan Lopatka and Jan Korselt; editing by
Simon Jessop)
