Alcon

Alcon, Inc. was a Swiss pharmaceutical company based in Hünenberg, which primarily manufactured products in the field of ophthalmology. The company was founded in Fort Worth in the U.S. in 1945 was acquired by Nestlé in 1977. In 2002, Nestlé, Alcon decided to go public as a spin -off again. The shares of Alcon were then listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Nestlé was after 24.8% were sold to Novartis in December 2008, still involved with 52 % stake in Alcon. Alcon employed in 75 countries, a total of about 14,500 people and generated 2007 sales of 5.6 billion U.S. dollars.

Acquisition by Novartis

In January 2010, Novartis announced the acquisition of a further 52% of the share capital and the intention to purchase the 23 percent minority interest known. After the complete takeover by Novartis, Alcon was merged with Ciba Vision and forms ever since, along with several ophthalmic pharmaceutical products, within the Novartis Group, a new Division of Ophthalmology.