Roche Holding on Monday said it was offering US$43.7 billion to take over the remaining shares of Genentech Inc. Roche, which already owns 55.9 percent of the San Francisco-based drug maker, said it was offering US$89 per share, 8.8 percent above the closing price Friday and 19 percent above the price a month ago. «The combined entity will be the seventh largest U.S. pharmaceuticals company in terms of market share, » Roche said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press. The total offer is the largest ever made by a Swiss concern for a takeover. Roche has been a partner with Genentech since 1990.
