Four Decades for Justice
On April 9, 2019, Novartis completed the spin-off of the Alcon eye care devices business into a separately-traded standalone company through a dividend-in-kind distribution to holders of Novartis shares and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), with each holder receiving 1 Alcon share for every 5 Novartis shares or ADRs held on April 8, 2019. Cravath represented Novartis in connection with this transaction, which is valued at approximately $29.8 billion based on first day trading of Alcon Inc.
The Cravath team was led by partner D. Scott Bennett and included senior attorney Mark Mushkin and associates Yannick Adler, Adam G. DiSimine and Shu-en Wee on corporate matters; partners Stephen L. Gordon and J. Leonard Teti II and associates Arvind Ravichandran and Andrew L. Mandelbaum on tax matters; partners Mark I. Greene and Aaron M. Gruber on M&A matters; and partner Eric W. Hilfers and associates Matthew J. Bobby and Sally Ye on executive compensation and benefits matters. Cedrick M. Dalluge also worked on corporate matters.
Deals & Cases
October 05, 2023
On October 4, 2023, Novartis announced the completion of the 100% spin‑off of the Sandoz business, a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, into a separately traded independent company through the distribution of a dividend‑in‑kind by Novartis. Each Novartis shareholder will receive one Sandoz share for every five Novartis shares and each Novartis American Depositary Receipt (“ADR”) holder will receive one Sandoz ADR for every five Novartis ADRs. The transaction is valued at approximately $11.4 billion. Cravath represented Novartis as U.S. tax counsel in connection with the transaction.
Deals & Cases
September 01, 2022
On August 19, 2022, the New York Supreme Court Commercial Division issued a decision dismissing a shareholder derivative action filed against current and former directors and officers of Novartis AG (“Novartis”) and several Novartis subsidiaries who, along with the Company, were represented by Cravath. Justice Margaret Chan of the Commercial Division dismissed the suit without prejudice to refile in Basel, Switzerland as required by a forum selection clause contained in Novartis’s Articles of Incorporation.
Deals & Cases
March 23, 2016
On March 23, 2016, the SEC announced a settlement with Cravath client Novartis AG that ended an investigation concerning Novartis’s use of travel agencies in China. Pursuant to the settlement, Novartis agreed to pay $25 million to settle claims that it had violated the FCPA’s internal controls and books and records provisions, without admitting or denying the charges.
Deals & Cases
November 19, 2009
On November 18, 2009, a jury in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey returned a verdict in favor of Novartis in its infringement suit against Teva Pharmaceuticals. In 2005, Teva filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application with the FDA, requesting approval to manufacture, market and sell a generic version of Novartis’s drug Famvir® (“famciclovir”). Shortly thereafter, Novartis sued Teva for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,246,937, which covers famciclovir. Teva conceded infringement but claimed that the patent was invalid as obvious and unenforceable due to inequitable conduct before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The jury found that the claimed invention was not obvious and, acting in an advisory capacity, that the patent was enforceable.
Celebrating 200 years of partnership. In 2019, we celebrated our bicentennial. Our history mirrors that of our nation. Integral to our story is our culture.
Attorney Advertising. ©2024 Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.