Novartis gets 25% stake in Nestle's Alcon
08 Jul 2008
Novartis says it has acquired a 25 per cent stake in eye care company Alcon as part of an agreement reached with Nestle in April.
It states it purchased the stake yesterday for $10.4 billion (£5.3 billion), which is around $200 million less than a previously announced figure due to a dividend Alcon paid to Nestle rather than Novartis in May.
As part of the agreement, Novartis will have the option between January 2010 and July 2011 to acquire the remaining 52 per cent stake in Alcon held by Nestle.
Novartis reports completion of that optional second step would make Alcon a majority-owned subsidiary of the company with a portfolio focused on growth areas of healthcare.
The company continues: "Alcon is the world's largest and most profitable eye care company with 2007 annual sales of $5.6 billion, operating income of $1.9 billion and net income of $1.6 billion."
Early last month, Novartis announced it had acquired US biotechnology firm Protez, a company with expertise in the field of antibiotics for difficult-to-treat infections.
