Novartis completes portfolio restructuring

Novartis has announced that it has completed its divestiture programme and consequently has a business portfolio dedicated solely to the healthcare industry. The final transaction of this divestment plan was completed when the firm sold its Gerber baby food business to Nestle for $5.5 billion (2.78 billion pounds).

Following this sale, Novartis has appointed Joseph Jimenez as chief executive officer of its consumer health segment, with Mr Jimenez due to take over from Paul Choffat at the end of April when he retires.

Mr Jimenez is currently employed by private equity firm Blackstone, having previously been president and chief executive officer of HJ Heinz in Europe and the US and a non-executive director at AstraZeneca.

Dr Daniel Vasella, chairman and chief executive officer of Novartis, said: “Over the past decade we have continuously invested in research and development, strengthening our innovation power and building our healthcare business, particularly pharmaceuticals, while divesting over 50 per cent of our non-core, non-healthcare businesses.”

He added that the transaction, due to be finalised in the second half of the year following standard regulatory approvals, will also benefit Gerber, with the subsidiary becoming a key business at Nestle.

Last month, Novartis was ranked top pharmaceutical firm in Fortune magazine’s listings for the world’s most admired companies.