Novartis: partial split of Alcon and share repurchases

(CercleFinance.com) - The Novartis share is up 3% in Zurich today, after the health group's announcement of its plan to split the eye care business from its Alcon ophthalmic division, along with a share buy-back program of five billion dollars.


After a strategic review, it concluded that a split of this activity is in its shareholders' best interest and that it features as part of its strategy to concentrate on drugs, with Alcon's pharmaceuticals business being kept.

While this split is set to be finalised in the first half of 2019, the share buyback program will be completed by the end of 2019, in line with Swiss group's priorities in terms of capital allocation.


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