Novartis eyes representation on Alcon board
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Alcon will vote on the conditional election of directors nominated by Novartis at an "extraordinary" shareholder meeting Aug. 16. Prospective directors would "face an obvious conflict of interest with respect to Novartis' merger proposal to Alcon's minority shareholders," said Thomas Plaskett, chairman of the Alcon independent director committee. Novartis acquired 25 percent of Alcon in 2008 and is in the process of buying out Nestle's remaining 52 percent stake in the eye care firm (1"The Tan Sheet" July 14, 2008, In Brief). Novartis' five board nominees would replace directors nominated by Nestle. Alcon continues to resist Novartis' bid for its remaining 23 percent stake, once again calling the bid "grossly inadequate" in a June 28 release (2"The Tan Sheet" Feb. 15, 2010)
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