Novartis's focus on eyecare group deal finally pays off
The Swiss drugmaker is hoping the Alcon deal, worth some $52bn in total, will help it diversify and give it protection against patent losses on big-selling medicines such as blood pressure drug Diovan.
Novartis has been trying to clinch 100 per cent ownership of Alcon since the start of the year, but its original all-paper offer of 2.8 shares for each Alcon share met stiff resistance from Alcon's Independent Director Committee, which dismissed it as "grossly inadequate."
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Hide AdThe merger consideration will now include up to 2.8 Novartis shares and will be topped up, if necessary, with cash to ensure Alcon shareholders receive $168 per share, the average price Novartis paid earlier this year for Nestle's 77 per cent stake. The Basel-based group said that if the value of 2.8 Novartis shares is more than $168, the number of Novartis shares will be reduced accordingly.
Novartis's move completes the final stage of a lengthy process to get full control of Alcon, known for its contact lens solutions but also the dominant player in the multibillion-dollar market for intra-ocular lenses, which are implanted in the eye to correct problems focussing.