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Novartis has no plans to acquire Nestlé's remaining shares in Alcon, the company's chief financial officer and committee member, Meryl Zausner, has told the Financial Times newspaper.

As reported in Optician (11.04.08), the Swiss drug maker acquired a 25 per cent stake in the eye care company from Nestlé for $11bn. It also has the right to buy the remaining Alcon shares owned by Nestlé at a fixed price between January 1 2010 and July 31 2011.

Nestlé remains Alcon's majority shareholder with some 52 per cent of its shares.

Zausner told the newspaper from 2010 it would be up to Nestlé to exercise its rights to sell its remaining common shares in Alcon to Novartis. She added that minority shareholders believed they were going to get bought out, but this was not in Novartis' plans.

The newspaper also said Zausner told a meeting of investors that Alcon would have synergies with CIBA Vision, the eye care unit of Novartis, and that both companies stood to benefit from each other's presence.

An analyst told the FT that a deal between Novartis/Nestlé could not be ruled out in the long term.

A Novartis spokeswoman declined to comment when contacted by Optician.

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