Swiss eye-care firm Alcon to buy Aerie Pharma for about $753 million

Alcon said yesterday it would acquire Aerie Pharma in a deal valued at about $753 million, as the Swiss eye-care company looks to bolster its pipeline of opthalmic treatments.

Alcon has offered $15.25 per share, a premium of 37 per cent to Aerie’s last closing price. The transaction value was calculated based on Aerie’s 49.36 million shares outstanding as of 22nd August.

The deal will add Aerie’s Rocklatan and Rhopressa eye drops, along with a pipeline of many clinical and pre-clinical ophthalmic pharma product candidates, to Alcon’s portfolio.

“Aerie is a natural fit with on-market and pipeline products, and R&D capabilities that offer the infrastructure needed to expand our ophthalmic pharmaceutical presence,” David Endicott, Chief Executive Officer, Alcon, said in a statement.

The Swiss company, which was spun off from Novartis since 2019, said the deal was expected to add to its core diluted earnings per share in 2024 and close in the fourth quarter.

Edits by EP News Bureau