The board of Zentiva on Monday approved an improved takeover bid by Sanofi-Aventis of France, valuing the Prague-based generic drugs company at €1.8bn.

Jiri Michal, the chairman, and other top managers pledged to sell their 5.7 per cent stake and recommended all investors to accept the Kc1,150 a share offer, nearly 10 per cent higher than its previous proposal.