Novartis Plans for Alcon Spin-Off on April 9, 2019
Novartis confirmed that conditions needed for the 100% spin-off of the Alcon eye care business have been met, and the spinoff is expected to be completed on April 9, 2019.
Each Novartis shareholder will receive 1 Alcon share for every 5 Novartis shares/American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) they hold on April 8, 2019, close of business.
Shares in Alcon are expected to be listed and traded from April 9, 2019 on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “ALC.” Alcon will also be included in both the Swiss Market Index (SMI) and Swiss Performance Index (SPI) from the first day of trading, as recently announced by the SIX. Shares of Novartis will continue to trade on the SIX under the symbol “NOVN.”
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.
Timeline for planned April 9, 2019 spin-off[1]
Date | Event |
February 28, 2019 | Approval of the planned 100% spin-off of Alcon eye care business at the Annual General Meeting of shareholders of Novartis AG |
March 29, 2019 | Last day for conversion of ADRs into Novartis shares (and vice versa) |
April 1, 2019 | ADR record date |
April 8, 2019 | Cum-dividend date (last day of trading Novartis shares and ADRs including right to receive Alcon shares) |
April 8, 2019, close of business | Distribution of Alcon shares to Novartis ADR holders (payment date for ADR holders)[2] |
April 9, 2019 | Ex-dividend date (first day of trading Novartis shares and ADRs excluding the right to receive Alcon shares) Listing and first day of trading of Alcon shares on the SIX (9.00am CET) and the NYSE (9:30am EST) Inclusion of Alcon in the SMI® and SPI® Indices |
April 9, 2019 or shortly after[3] | Credit of Alcon shares to Novartis shareholders by their bank or broker |
April 11, 2019 | First day ADR holders may again convert their Novartis ADRs into Novartis ordinary shares (and vice-versa) |
On or around April 23, 2019 | Distribution of net cash proceeds for fractions of shares[4] |