Deals
Novartis Mulls Options Including Spinoff, IPO for Alcon Unit
- Drugmaker projects 2017 sales will be largely same as 2016
- Company plans to repurchase $5 billion of shares this year
Novartis Considering Options for Alcon Unit
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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.