Novartis (NYSE:NVS) said today that it’s planning to list the shares of its Alcon vision care business April 9 in Switzerland and New York.
Terms for the spinout, announced last June, call for each Novartis shareholder to receive a single ALC share for every five NVS shares at the close of business April 8.
The Swiss SIX exchange and the New York Stock Exchange have each approved the listing, Novartis said.
“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,” Novartis said.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS are advisors on the deal, the company said. Novartis bought Alcon in 2010 after a years-long courtship.
