Prague  - French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis is set to take control of the Czech generics maker Zentiva as smaller shareholders agreed to sell their stakes in the company.

Czech financial group J&T, which holds a 7.6 per cent stake in Zentiva through a subsidiary, said Friday it had accepted Sanofi- Aventis' buyout offer of 1,150 koruny (51 dollars) per share.

The Czech group revealed its intention to sell their stake on the bid's last day, and a day after another shareholder, the Czech investment group PPF, made a similar announcement.

PPF had initially waged a bidding war with the French drugmaker, which is the largest Zentiva shareholder at 24.9 per cent. On Thursday, however, PPF said it would sell its
24.3 per cent stake.

Sanofi-Aventis is to hold a 62.7 per cent in the Czech generics maker, which is mostly active in Central and Eastern Europe, as Zentiva's management also agreed earlier to sell its 5.9 per cent stake.

Zentiva shares were among the least hurt in Friday trading on the Prague Stock Exchange, which has plunged in recent days. The firm's stock fell by 1.6 per cent to 1,110 koruny. dpa