Novartis Board of Directors and Dr. Daniel Vasella agree to cancel the non-compete agreement and all related compensation; Decision taken to address concerns of stakeholders
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
Novartis International AG /
Novartis Board of Directors and Dr. Daniel Vasella agree to cancel the
non-compete agreement and all related compensation; Decision taken to address
concerns of stakeholders
. Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Basel, 19 February 2013 - Novartis announced that the Novartis Board of
Directors and Dr. Daniel Vasella have agreed to cancel his non-compete agreement
with Novartis and all related conditional compensation. The agreement was to
take effect after Dr. Vasella steps down as Chairman of the Board at the
Novartis Annual General Meeting on February 22, 2013.
Intended to protect the company, the non-compete required that Dr. Vasella
refrain from making his knowledge and know-how available to competitors who may
take advantage of his experience with the company. Dr. Vasella knows the
company's business intimately, having built the leading R&D organization and
personally recruited most of the top executives. In return, the non-compete
provided for an annual payout of up to CHF 12 million for six years, for a
maximum total payout to Dr. Vasella of CHF 72 million, assuming all conditions
were met. Dr. Vasella previously expressed his intention to make available the
net amount received under the non-compete for philanthropic activities.
"The Board and Dr. Vasella agreed to cancel the non-compete agreement and to
forgo all compensation linked to his non-compete," said current Vice Chairman
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Lehner, who will serve as Chairman ad interim until the
designated Chairman is elected and assumes office on August 1, 2013. "We
continue to believe in the value of a non-compete, however, we believe the
decision to cancel the agreement and all related compensation addresses the
concerns of shareholders and other stakeholders. The board understands the
importance of full transparency and will strengthen its efforts in this regard."
In light of recent events and especially in view of safeguarding the company's
interests, Dr. Vasella said, "I have understood that many people in Switzerland
find the amount of the compensation linked to the non-compete agreement
unreasonably high, despite the fact I had announced my intention to make the net
amount available for philanthropic activities. That is why I have recommended to
the Board that I forgo all payments linked to the non-compete agreement."
Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified
by terminology such as "intention," "will," or similar expressions, or by
express or implied discussions regarding the potential future impact on Novartis
of the matters described in this release. You should not place undue reliance on
these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of
management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee as to the ultimate outcome
of the matters described in this release. In particular, management's
expectations regarding these matters could be affected by, among other things,
the public reaction to these matters; the potential impact of these matters on
executive compensation at Novartis; competition in general; the impact that the
foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Novartis Group's
assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet,
and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on
file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these
risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed,
estimated or expected. 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
diagnostic tools, over-the-counter and animal health products. Novartis is the
only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2012, the Group
achieved net sales of USD 56.7 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted
to approximately USD 9.3 billion (USD 9.1 billion excluding impairment and
amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 128,000
full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around
the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.
Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow (at)Novartis at
http://twitter.com/novartis.
# # #
Novartis Media Relations
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investor.relations(at)novartis.com
Media release (PDF):
http://hugin.info/134323/R/1679194/548285.pdf
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Source: Novartis International AG via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1679194]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 19.02.2013 - 08:32 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 230552
Anzahl Zeichen: 7744
contact information:
Town:
Basel
Kategorie:
Business News
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