Novartis to spin off Alcon
Novartis is set to spin-off its eye care business. The company today confirmed that it has met certain conditions in the run-up to the 100% spin-off of the Alcon eye care business, including receipt of certain necessary authorizations and rulings.
Completion of the transaction, by way of a distribution of a dividend in kind to Novartis shareholders and American depositary receipt holders, is expected to be on April 9. In the distribution, each Novartis shareholder will receive 1 Alcon share for every 5 Novartis shares/American depositary receipt they hold on April 8 at close of business.
Approval has been given, subject to customary conditions, by the SIX Exchange Regulation for the listing of the shares of Alcon on the SIX Swiss Exchange, or SIX pursuant to the International Reporting Standard. Authorization has also been received for the listing of shares in Alcon on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE.
Shares in Alcon are expected to be listed and traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ALC starting April 9. Alcon also will be included in both the Swiss Market Index and Swiss Performance Index from the first day of trading, as recently announced by the SIX.
Alcon has secured debt financing of $3.5 billion through a group of banks. The Alcon credit rating will be investment grade following the spin-off. Moody's Investor Service and S&P Global Ratings have rated Alcon at Baa2 and BBB, respectively, with a stable outlook.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS AG are advising Novartis on the transaction.
Completion of the transaction, by way of a distribution of a dividend in kind to Novartis shareholders and American depositary receipt holders, is expected to be on April 9. In the distribution, each Novartis shareholder will receive 1 Alcon share for every 5 Novartis shares/American depositary receipt they hold on April 8 at close of business.
Approval has been given, subject to customary conditions, by the SIX Exchange Regulation for the listing of the shares of Alcon on the SIX Swiss Exchange, or SIX pursuant to the International Reporting Standard. Authorization has also been received for the listing of shares in Alcon on the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE.
Shares in Alcon are expected to be listed and traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ALC starting April 9. Alcon also will be included in both the Swiss Market Index and Swiss Performance Index from the first day of trading, as recently announced by the SIX.
Alcon has secured debt financing of $3.5 billion through a group of banks. The Alcon credit rating will be investment grade following the spin-off. Moody's Investor Service and S&P Global Ratings have rated Alcon at Baa2 and BBB, respectively, with a stable outlook.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS AG are advising Novartis on the transaction.