Alcon
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Eye care firm will spend $1.4 bil. on R&D over next four years as an independent company following spin-off from Nestle. IPO prospectus filed with SEC Feb. 22 calls for sale of 69.8 mil. shares of common stock at $31-$35 per share by April; Nestle will receive all of the estimated $2.19 bil. in proceeds. Nestle's plan to sell a minority stake in Alcon, which controls approximately 18% of the $2.5 bil. market for contact lens care and other vision care products, is the second recent proposed spin-off of a major eye care player. In January, Allergan announced plans to spin off its contact lens care, ophthalmic surgical businesses (1"The Tan Sheet" Jan. 28, 2002, In Brief)...