US drug maker Johnson & Johnson and Switzerland's Novartis could become white knights and rescue Franco-German drug-maker Aventis, which is fighting a hostile bid from rival Sanofi-Synthelabo, French newspaper Le Figaro said on Tuesday.
A source told Reuters at the end of January that Aventis Chief Executive Igor Landau cited the names of several possible white knights at a board meeting, including Novartis, J&J, Glaxo SmithKline, Merck and Pfizer.
Aventis, which has spurned the Sanofi offer, worth around 46 billion euros ($58.63 billion), as too low, was not immediately available to comment on Tuesday.
Sanofi Chairman and CEO Jean-Francois Dehecq told French radio Europe 1 on Tuesday Sanofi was the best marriage partner.
"They would have to have better plans, which means they would have to without doubt pay more," Dehecq said when asked about other merger partners for Aventis. "I think we are certainly the company that can make the most beautiful marriage with Aventis."
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