The French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Synthelabo's takeover bid for its larger rival Aventis has succeeded according to preliminary results, France's Financial

Market Authority said Monday, AFP reported. Sanofi-Synthelabo was on course to obtain "89.84 percent of shares and 89.88 percent of the voting rights in Aventis," surpassing Sanofi-Synthelabo's self-imposed minimum of gaining 50 Percent of Aventis for the offer to go through, the Financial Market Authority said in a statement. The French market authority is due to reveal the final results

of the offer on August 12.