Novartis AG Ponders Over Spin Off, IPO of Alcon Eye Unit
Novartis AG proposed buying back $5 billion of shares and said it’s considering separating its embattled eye-care division after projecting that sales this year at Europe’s second-biggest drugmaker will likely be largely unchanged from 2016.
Earnings, excluding some expenses, will probably remain flat or decline by a “low single digit” percent in 2017 as its top-selling medicine Gleevec faces increasing competition from cheaper copycat drugs, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said Wednesday in a statement.
For the Alcon division, which sells surgical equipment for ophthalmologists and contact lenses, Novartis is considering alternatives including a spinoff or an initial public offering, and expects to provide an update on the review by the end of the year.
Earnings, excluding some expenses, will probably remain flat or decline by a “low single digit” percent in 2017 as its top-selling medicine Gleevec faces increasing competition from cheaper copycat drugs, the Basel, Switzerland-based company said Wednesday in a statement.
For the Alcon division, which sells surgical equipment for ophthalmologists and contact lenses, Novartis is considering alternatives including a spinoff or an initial public offering, and expects to provide an update on the review by the end of the year.