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Sanofi Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher confirmed his proposal to pay $69 per share in cash for Genzyme on Sunday, hinting he could make a hostile takeover bid following several unsuccessful attempts to hold talks with Genzyme management.

The French group stopped short of making a direct approach to Genzyme shareholders, however, and Viehbacher sounded a conciliatory tone in an interview with Les Echos newspaper that nonetheless suggested there was a limit to his patience.

"We want to show that we are determined and serious, without being threatening straightaway. Quite some time can go by yet," Viehbacher -- dubbed the "Smiling Killer" by some staff for his cost-cutting zeal -- he said in the interview.

Genzyme shares were up 4.3 percent at 54.71 euros $69.60 in Frankfurt trading by 0925 GMT as investors waited for Genzyme to respond to Sanofis proposal.

Sanofi Aventis shares were up 1.2 percent at 45.81 euros. Sanofi is due to hold a call with analysts at 1230 GMT.

Viehbacher said on Sunday that disclosing Sanofis non-binding offer would give Genzyme shareholders a chance to see the "significant shareholder value and compelling strategic fit inherent in a combination of the two companies."

Some analysts suggested Genzyme, which is trying to fix manufacturing problems that led to shortages of two of its top drugs and hit its stock price over the past year, may not get a better offer.

"Sanofi realizes these guys are in a corner and are thinking why should they pay over the odds?," said Navid Malik, an analyst at Matrix Corporate Capital in London.

"Weve not seen any white knights and if this offer doesnt go through well see the shares back well below $60. I dont think there is a white knight out there. I think this is the only offer Genzyme shareholders will see."

Sources previously told Reuters that Genzyme wants an offer of at least $75 per share before Sanofi could review its private financial records. Some shareholders want as much as $80 a share to clinch a deal.

However, Sanofis top two shareholders -- cosmetics group LOreal and oil company Total SA -- worry that the company might pay too much for Genzyme and are not convinced it is the best fit, bankers said last week.

Genzyme stock closed on Friday at $67.62, having jumped from around $54 before news of Sanofis interest surfaced.

Analysts have said they expect a deal to be finalized in the range of $74 to $77 a share. If Sanofi walks away, analysts see shares of Genzyme falling to the low $50-range. Some say it could take at least a year for them to rebuild the lost value.

Genzyme is the worlds dominant supplier of drugs to treat Gaucher and Fabry disease -- rare, inherited disorders in which patients lack key enzymes for breaking down fats.

News of Sanofis initial approach emerged late in July and the drugmaker sent a written expression of interest on July 29.

Sanofi said Genzyme rebuffed the offer on August 11, but after some persuasion agreed to a meeting of financial advisers on August 24.

$1=.7861 Euro

Additional reporting by Ben Hirschler in Stockholm

Reporting by Nina Sovich; Editing by James Regan and Michael Shields

M&A activity will be in focus on Monday, after Frances Sanofi-Aventis SASY.PA publicly disclosed its proposed $18.5 billion, $69 per share cash indicated offer for Genzyme Corp GENZ.O in a bid to rouse shareholders after failing to engage the U.S. biotechnology company in merger talks. Sanofi said it is considering all options to complete the transaction, hinting it would consider a hostile takeover bid.

Shares of Genzyme traded in Frankfurt GENZ.F were up 5.9 percent.

German chipmaker Infineon IFXGn.DE has agreed to sell its wireless unit to Intel INTC.O for $1.4 billion, enabling the U.S. chipmaker to boost its presence in the smartphone market.

Dell Inc DELL.O said on Sunday it was assessing its bid for 3PAR Inc PAR.N after the data storage companys board of directors late on Friday said Hewlett-Packard Cos HPQ.N $2 billion offer was a "superior proposal."

Oil stayed near an eight-day high above $75 on Monday as sustained momentum from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankes speech last week boosted Asian stock markets.

Japans Nikkei average pared gains to close near its days lows on Monday after rising more than 3 percent at one point, with investors disappointed by a Bank of Japan decision that contained no surprises and was seen as lackluster at best.

European stocks were up 0.3 percent in morning trade, gaining ground for the third consecutive session and tracking gains in Asian stocks and commodity prices on recovering risk appetite in the wake of Bernankes comments.

On the macro front, investors awaited July personal income and consumption data as well as the core PCE data, all due at 1230 GMT 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Stocks rebounded to post their best gains in nearly four weeks on Friday, overcoming initial skittishness brought on by a revenue warning from Intel and dour comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 164.84 points, or 1.65 percent, to 10,150.65. The Standard & Poors 500 Index .SPX jumped 17.37 points, or 1.66 percent, to 1,064.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC climbed 34.94 points, or 1.65 percent, to 2,153.63.

Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Mike Nesbit

Agrium Chief Executive Mike Wilson said on Monday his fertilizer and agricultural company was strong financially and would look at any assets up for grabs. His comments came after BHP told analysts it could look to divest Potashs nitrogen and phosphates operations.

"We are a global company that produce 8 million metric tonnes of nitrogen, phosphate and potash and markets 16 million so any assets that came on the market that fits with us we would certainly look at," Wilson told Reuters in an interview.

Wilson was in Australia to finalize his companys $1 billion takeover of local wheat exporter AWB Ltd.

BHP Billiton is chasing Potash Corp to become the worlds largest potash supplier, with nearly a quarter of the global market. Potash Corp formally rejected the offer last week and BHP now has to woo the Canadian companys shareholders.

With its takeover offer -- the largest in any industry this year -- BHP aims to vault to the top of a rebounding fertilizer industry, as the economies and populations of Asian powerhouses like China and India rapidly expand, lifting demand for crop nutrients.

BHP has lined up $45 billion in debt for the bid, and Chief Executive Marius Kloppers has said it does not need to sell any assets to help fund the deal.

But the prospect of recouping some of the outlay through divestments could be appealing for investors worried about BHP moving into a new and untested sector for the company.

"BHP said that 70 percent of the value is in the potash assets and that over time it would probably look to possibly divest the nitrogen and perhaps the phosphates business," Soleil Securities analyst Mark Gulley said in a note to clients after a conference call last week.

Analysts estimate Potash Corps phosphates business is worth around $7 billion and its nitrogen business is worth abut $5 billion, each ranked third or fourth in their industries.

The conference call was led by BHPs chief commercial officer, Alberto Calderon, who is also head of mergers and acquisitions.

FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY

Agriums Wilson said his company had plenty of financial flexibility for future growth.

He added it was logical for BHP to stay in Canpotex, the North American potash marketing consortium that also includes Mosaic Co and Potash Corp, if its bid was successful. Agrium is a one-third partner in Canpotex.

"Canpotex is a very, very strong joint venture when it comes to global marketing and distribution and I can see huge value for BHP," said Wilson.

"Whether it is logical for them to stay in it will be their decision obviously, but it is one of the strongest marketing organizations I have ever worked with."

Kloppers has said that in the long run BHP would like to market Potash Corps production independently, but last week sought to ease concerns BHP would pull out of Canpotex, saying it would only change Canpotex if other stakeholders wanted to.

Kloppers and Calderon are in North America this week to brief BHP shareholders, many of whom are also Potash Corp stakeholders, on the bid and the groups half-year results, its richest in two years.

BHP has played down the chances of raising its offer, saying it timed its bid to ensure that potential rivals, like Rio Tinto and Brazils Vale, were not in a position to raise the stakes.

"There is only one offer on the table, so why would we compete against ourselves?" Chief Financial Officer Alex Vanselow said in an interview on Australian television on Sunday. Potash Corp shares closed on Friday at $147.73, 14 percent above BHPs offer, indicating investors expect BHP to raise its offer or another bidder to enter the fray.

BHP shares closed 1.5 percent firmer at A$37.87 in Sydney on Monday. The broader market was up 1.9 percent.

The current bid is not subject to a vote of BHPs shareholders. But under UK listing rules, if it sweetens the offer to be worth at least 25 percent of BHPs market value at the time, then it would need its own shareholders approval.

Additional reporting by Ed Davies and Sonali Paul; Writing by Michael Smith; Editing by Lincoln Feast