Novartis finally lands Alcon… for $168 a share

Alcon Inc. (NYSE:ACL) is about to become part of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) after the companies’ boards agreed to a merger deal.

Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis agreed to pay $168 per ACL share through a combination of its own shares and “a contingent value cash component,” according to a prepared statement from Alcon.

That’s a 2.4 percent premium over Alcon’s closing price yesterday. ACL share price increased $1.67 or just more than 1 percent for the day.

The deal comes after two years of Novartis share buys and a $28.3 billion deal with Nestl S.A. for 156 million Alcon shares in August . That transaction increased Novartis’ share in the Huenenberg, Switzerland-based ophthalmic care company to 77 percent, up from 25 percent, and added five Novartis representatives to Alcon’s board. In October, Novartis used that leverage to replace Alcon’s CFO with its own financial chief, but representatives of Alcon’s minority shareholders, calling themselves the Independent Director Committee, continued to resist the merger. Later in October, Alcon’s board replaced its chairman with Novartis’ own board head.

“I congratulate the entire Alcon board, including the IDC, and Novartis for achieving a favorable resolution on the merger in a manner consistent with our organizational regulations. This now allows us to begin planning for the integration and creation of a dynamic eye care division within Novartis after final shareholder approval,’ Alcon CEO Kevin Buehler said in prepared remarks.

Alcon will become the second largest division within Novartis once the deal closes, according the Alcon statement.