Novartis : completes divestment of Animal Health business to Eli Lilly for USD 5.4 billion

Basel, January 1, 2015 - Novartis announced today that it has completed effective January 1, 2015 the divestment of its Animal Health Division to Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) for approximately USD 5.4 billion. The completion of this transaction is part of a comprehensive set of transactions announced last April, that will focus Novartis on its three leading businesses of global scale: innovative pharmaceuticals, eye care, and generics.

Deal Terms and Related Information
As a result of today's announcement, Novartis will show in the first quarter of 2015 an exceptional pre-tax gain of approximately USD 4.6 billion.

The Novartis Animal Health results for the full year to December 31, 2014 will be reported under Discontinuing Operations in the Novartis 2014 consolidated financial statements. In 2015, apart from the Animal Health divestment gain, the Consumer Health divisional results will only include the Novartis OTC business. 

2013 net sales of Animal Health were approximately USD 1.1 billion, and net sales through Q3 2014 were approximately USD 0.9 billion.

Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by words such as "will," "future," "expected," "to focus," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential future sales or earnings of any of the businesses involved in the announced transactions, or of the Novartis Group, regarding the potential completion of the remaining announced transactions, or regarding any potential strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities as a result of the announced transactions. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that Novartis will be able to realize any of the potential strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities as a result of the announced transactions. Nor can there be any guarantee that the remaining transactions will be completed in the expected form or within the expected time frame or at all. Neither can there be any guarantee that Novartis or any of the businesses involved in the transactions will achieve any particular future financial results in the future. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, the potential that the strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities expected from the transactions may not be realized or may take longer to realize than expected; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally, including an unexpected failure to obtain necessary government approvals for the remaining transactions, or unexpected delays in obtaining such approvals; the potential that any other closing conditions for any of the transactions might not be met; the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including unexpected clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; the Company's ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; global trends toward health care cost containment, including ongoing pricing pressures; general economic and industry conditions, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis
Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive vaccines and over-the-counter products. Novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2013, the Group achieved net sales of USD 57.9 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.9 billion (USD 9.6 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 130,000 full-time-equivalent associates and sell products in more than 150 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com:
http://www.novartis.com.

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