Novartis Portfolio Transformation

On 22 April 2014, Novartis announced that it has agreed to acquire GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) oncology products and to divest its vaccines business (excluding flu) to GSK. Moreover, Novartis and GSK have agreed to combine Novartis' OTC and GSK's consumer health businesses in a joint venture. In a separate transaction, Novartis has agreed to divest its animal health business to Eli Lilly.

Bär & Karrer acts as Swiss legal counsel, Freshfields and Linklaters as international counsels to Novartis in these transactions. The Bär & Karrer team includes Mariel Hoch, Roland Truffer, Thomas Rhode, Fabienne Frehner, Annette Weber and Daniel Heiniger (all M&A), Corrado Rampini and Charles Gschwind (Real Estate), Markus Wang and Fabian Wigger (Intellectual Property & Technology) as well as Markus Schott and Fabienne Gribi (Life Sciences).