Shareholders – The situation today

The relationship between sanofi-aventis and its shareholders is based on trust. To maintain and strengthen this trust, sanofi-aventis is committed to providing our shareholders with frequent, transparent and accessible information about the Company's business.

A shareholder is the owner of one part of a company's capital. Shareholders invest in the company's future by providing it with the resources it needs to grow. In return, the company grants shareholders certain rights: the right to information (the company must inform its shareholders about any event that may influence the share price), the right to vote (the shareholder may vote on issues concerning Group business during general meetings), and the right to dividends (the shareholder receives a portion of the company's profits).

The company is responsible for the information it communicates to shareholders, or future shareholders, who must be able to make investment choices with full knowledge of the facts.

Sanofi-aventis is a global Group and its shares are listed on the stock exchanges in Paris and New York. Sanofi-aventis shares rank among the top five companies in the CAC 40 index in terms of market capitalization. On the basis of an "identifiable bearer securities"("Titre au porteur identifiable" or TPI) survey conducted on September 30, 2006, French shareholders represent 45% of the Group's capital and foreign shareholders account for 55%; institutions (excluding Total and l'Oreal) hold 65% of the capital; and an estimated 670,000 individual shareholders represent 7% of the capital, of whom roughly two-thirds are in France and one-third in the United States.

Consult the "Capital and shareholding" page on our Corporate website