The Competition Bureau has announced that divestitures have been agreed to in the recent Novartis/Alcon transaction, and that it has reached an agreement with Novartis AG to resolve competition issues associated with its proposed acquisition of Alcon, Inc.
According to the Bureau, the proposed transaction was likely to have resulted in a substantial lessening of competition in Canada for the supply of certain ophthalmic products, including certain multi-purpose solution contact lens cleaners, injectable miotics and ocular conjunctivitis drugs.
Under the terms of the negotiated consent agreement, certain assets and associated licences relating to the sale in Canada of ophthalmic products are required to be divested to a third party purchaser.
The Bureau also noted, as is increasingly usual in cross-border matters (both in the merger, as well as in the cartel and deceptive marketing contexts), that the Bureau worked with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and DG Comp of the European Commission in arriving at a settlement in this transaction.
For more on this transaction see: Competition Bureau Secures Divestitures in Novartis’Acquisition of Alcon.
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