SANOFI-AVENTIS SA, France's biggest drug maker, sweetened its bid for Zentiva NV to clinch the support of the Czech generic-drug company's board in a deal valued at 1.8 billion euros (US$2.6 billion).

Zentiva shareholders will now get 1,150 koruna (US$69.63) a share, a 9.5-percent increase on the original bid, Paris-based Sanofi said in a statement yesterday. The improved offer is extended to stock held in the form of global depositary shares. Zentiva's board had urged investors to reject the approach up until now, Bloomberg News reported.

Sanofi, which is struggling to get new products on the market as some of its biggest sellers face patent challenges, is replacing Chief Executive Officer Gerard le Fur to spur growth.

The French drug maker wants control of Zentiva so it can expand in a market that is growing at twice the rate of branded medicines.

Zentiva, based in Prague, sells copies of brand-name medicines which have patents that have expired in Russia, Turkey and Romania, where governments are increasing healthcare spending. Zentiva offers "a unique opportunity," Sanofi said in the statement.