Alcon, Inc.
HUENENBERG, Switzerland, Apr 07, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Alcon, Inc. (NYSE:ACL) announced that its shareholders approved the
merger of Alcon into Novartis AG at its Annual General Meeting of
Shareholders. Under the terms of the merger, Alcon shareholders will
receive 2.9228 Novartis shares or American Depositary Shares plus a cash
payment of $8.20 for each Alcon share. Completion of the merger is
subject to approval by the Novartis shareholders, which vote will take
place on April 8, 2011. Following completion of the merger, Alcon will
terminate its listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Alcon shareholders also re-elected Dr. Daniel Vasella, Cary Rayment,
Thomas Plaskett, Dr. Enrico Vanni, and Norman Walker to the board of
directors for the period between the Annual General Meeting of
Shareholders and the completion of the merger. Shareholders also voted
to grant a discharge to the current and former members of the board of
directors, approved the 2010 business report and approved KPMG as
auditor.
Company Description
Alcon, Inc. is the world's leading eye care company, with sales of
approximately $7.2 billion in 2010. Alcon, which has been dedicated to
the ophthalmic industry for 65 years, researches, develops, manufactures
and markets pharmaceuticals, surgical equipment and devices, contacts
lens solutions and other vision care products that treat diseases,
disorders and other conditions of the eye. Alcon operates in 75
countries and sells products in 180 markets. For more information on
Alcon, Inc., visit the Company's web site at www.alcon.com.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements principally relate to statements regarding
the expectations of our management with respect to the future
performance of various aspects of our business. These statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause
our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from any future results, performances or achievements
expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Words such as
"may," "will," "should," "could," "would," "expect," "plan,"
"anticipate," "believe," "hope," "intend," "estimate," "project,"
"predict," "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the views of our
management as of the date of this press release with respect to future
events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and
uncertainties and are not intended to give any assurance as to future
results. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance
on these forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause future
results to differ include, but are not limited to, the following: the
development of commercially viable products may take longer and cost
more than expected; changes in reimbursement procedures by third-party
payers may affect our sales and profits; a weakening economy could
affect demand for our products; competition may lead to worse than
expected financial condition and results of operations; currency
exchange rate fluctuations may negatively affect our financial condition
and results of operations; pending or future litigation may negatively
impact our financial condition and results of operations; litigation
settlements may adversely impact our financial condition; the occurrence
of excessive property and casualty, general liability or business
interruption losses, for which we are self-insured, may adversely impact
our financial condition; product recalls or withdrawals may negatively
impact our financial condition or results of operations; government
regulation or legislation may negatively impact our financial condition
or results of operations; changes in tax laws or regulations in the
jurisdictions in which we and our subsidiaries are subject to taxation
may adversely impact our financial performance; supply and manufacturing
disruptions could negatively impact our financial condition or results
of operations. You should read this press release with the understanding
that our actual future results may be materially different from what we
expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these
cautionary statements. Except to the extent required under the federal
securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated by the
Securities and Exchange Commission, we undertake no obligation to
publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements,
whether to reflect new information or future events or circumstances or
otherwise.
