Aventis
Aventis Pharma is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, with a major presence in France, Germany, and USA. It evolved from a fusion of Rhône-Poulenc Rorer and Hoechst Marion Roussel in 1998. Aventis had approximately 69,000 employees as of December 31, 2003, according to their official web pages.
Aventis's main headquarters are situated in Strasbourg, France.
In 2004 Sanofi-Synthelabo, another (smaller) French pharmaceutical company, made a hostile takeover bid for Aventis Pharma. After much negotiation, the companies agreed to a merger to form Sanofi-Aventis.
For many readers of popular science books, the company is familiar as the sponsor of The Aventis Prizes for Science Books.
