Sanofi-Aventis to buy another drug maker?

NEW YORK A big-ticket acquisition could be in the works for French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis, according to a report by British market research firm Datamonitor.

Rumors, reported by Bloomberg, emerged recently that Sanofi was planning to pay $20 billion to acquire a drug company, possibly one based in the United States.

Datamonitor said the company to be acquired could be Switzerland-based Biogen Idec, Allergan or Genzyme Corp., the latter two based in the United States, based on current market capitalizations and strategic fits.

ASanofi spokesman declined to comment on the matter.