Abstract
This document presents the history and development the fusion between Sanofi and Aventis. Sanofi-Synthélabo resulted from the merger in 1999, of Sanofi and Synthélabo, two French pharmaceutical companies. After the merger, both companies combined their resources to spread the presence of Sanofi-Synthélabo to the world, particularly to the United States, and to concentrate its efforts on the research and development of new products with great potential. Sanofi was founded in 1973 by Elf Aquitaine, a French oil company. Sanofi launched its first major product in the market, Ticlid, in 1978. Synthélabo was founded in 1970 by the merger of two French pharmaceutical companies, Dausse Laboratories and Robert and Carrière Laboratories. In 1973, L'Oréal acquired the majority of the capital. In 1988, Synthélabo launched two major products in the French market, Stilnox and Xatral. At the time of the merger, Synthélabo was the third pharmaceutical group in France in terms of turnover. The merger of Sanofi and Synthélabo, decided at the end of 1998, was realized on May 18th, 1999. After the merger, Total Fina Elf and L'Oréal became the two main shareholders of the new group, although none of them hold the majority of the share capital. Further to the merger, Sanofi-Synthélabo decided to concentrate on its main activity, pharmacy.
