IRVINE, Calif., May 30 , 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- IBC reported today that CIBA Vision, the eye care unit of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS), and Wesley Jessen VisionCare (Nasdaq:WJCO) announced an agreement whereby CIBA Vision will acquire Wesley Jessen for $38.50 a share in cash, or a total of approximately $785 million. The offer represents a premium of about 17% over the closing price of Wesley Jessen's shares on May 26, 2000.
CIBA Vision will begin a cash tender offer within five business days for all outstanding shares of Wesley Jessen common stock. Upon completion, the combined company will be the world's second largest contact lens company. As a result of the agreement with CIBA Vision, Wesley Jessen terminated its previously announced merger agreement with Ocular Sciences (Nasdaq:OCLR) and paid Ocular Sciences a $25 million termination fee. Also, Wesley Jessen postponed indefinitely its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for June 23.
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