Novartis to acquire stake in eyecare group Alcon

Source: Healthcare Exec

Date :08/04/2008 09:40:47

Novartis AG, the Swiss drugs group, is to acquire 25 percent of US-listed eyecare group Alcon Inc. from Nestle for about $11 billion (£5.53 billion).

The Swiss pharmaceutical group will buy the stake of Alcon later this year for $143 a share.

Basel-based Novartis then has the option to acquire Nestle’s remaining 52 percent stake for a further $28 billion between January 2010 and July 2011 at $181 a share.

Acquiring all of Nestle's shares in Alcon would make Novartis the world's biggest maker of eye-care products, including contact lenses and treatments for glaucoma.

Eyecare

Novartis is keen to broaden its business from prescription drugs, which face increasing competition from generic medicines and a tougher path to markets, to non-traditional areas like vaccines, eye care and generics.

Buying Alcon, the biggest player in the $25 billion eye-care market, would add $5.6 billion in sales.

Healthcare acquisitions

The purchase, the biggest in healthcare this year, comes on top of the $13 billion Novartis spent on generic-drug makers Hexal AG and Eon Labs Inc. in 2005 and the $5.7 billion acquisition of vaccine maker Chiron Corp. in 2006.

The acquisition "furthers our strategy to strengthen in areas of the market which grow dynamically and which allow us to diversify risk," Novartis chief executive Daniel Vasella said.

April 08, 2008