Novartis will spin off its eye care business before mid-April 2019.

Having achieved all the necessary conditions to allow for spin-off of its Alcon eye care business, Novartis will be moving forward with the transaction. The company will make a distribution of a dividend in kind to Novartis shareholders and ADR (American Depositary Receipt) holders on April 9, 2019, with each Novartis shareholder receiving one Alcon share for every five Novartis shares/ADRs they hold at the close of business on April 8, 2019.

The company has received approval, subject to customary conditions, from the SIX Exchange Regulation for the listing of the shares of Alcon Inc. on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX) pursuant to the International Reporting Standard. It has also received authorization for the listing of shares in Alcon Inc. on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Shares in Alcon Inc. will be traded on the SIX and the NYSE under the ticker symbol "ALC."