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EC clears Sanofi-Aventis acquisition of Zentiva, subject to conditions, after a Phase I investigation

On 4 February 2009, the European Commission cleared at Phase I, subject to remedies, the acquisition of Zentiva, a generics company active in Central and Eastern Europe, by French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis.

The Commission investigated the effects of the transaction in over 100 national pharmaceutical markets where the parties' activities overlapped and concluded that in the majority of these, the transaction would not give rise to competition concerns, either because the joint market share of the parties was moderate or because sufficient competition remained on the market. To remedy the Commission's remaining concerns in a number of therapeutic areas in Eastern European markets, Sanofi-Aventis offered to divest 15 products.

A CRA team composed of Matthias Pflanz, Hristina Dantcheva and Andrew Parkinson advised Sanofi-Aventis throughout the proceedings.

See Commission Press Release for further details.

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