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Biotech / Medical : VISX -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mikeh who wrote (1732)	5/26/2000 6:07:00 AM
From: Thai Chung	Respond to of 1754

Nestle May Buy Summit for More Than $600 Million, WSJ Reports By Kristin Jensen Lausanne, Switzerland, May 26 (Bloomberg) -- Nestle SA is in talks to buy laser maker Summit Technology Inc. of the U.S. for more than $600 million to expand its eye-care unit, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. Officials from both companies declined to comment. Nestle, the world's largest food company, is also Switzerland's third-biggest pharmaceutical maker, after Roche Holding AG and Novartis AG. The company's Alcon Laboratories Inc. ophthalmic unit was one of its best-performing divisions last year with sales of 3.6 billion Swiss francs ($2.1 billion). Summit is the No. 2 maker of eye lasers used to correct vision, a procedure growing in popularity in the U.S. Buying the Massachusetts-based company offers Nestle an opportunity to increase its presence in the U.S., the world's biggest market. ``Alcon is doing very well,'' said Christian Schoefel, an analyst at Lombard Odier & Cie. with a ``accumulate'' rating on Nestle. ``I'm not astonished if they want to expand.'' Alcon is planning to pay cash and offer a premium over Summit's current market value of about $600 million, a person close to the talks said, according to the Journal. Negotiations were continuing last night though one person close to the talks said there is no guarantee an agreement will reached, the newspaper said. The Nestle unit makes products ranging from disinfectant solution for contact lenses to medical equipment to treat eyes. Summit shares fell 0.95 euro to 13.65 euros ($12.50) in recent trading in Germany after closing at 12 11/16 in the U.S. Nestle shares, meanwhile, fell 12 francs, or 0.4 percent, to 3,327 in recent trading.