Nestlé  announced  yesterday that pharmaceuticals group Novartis had exercised its call option to buy a 52% stake in Alcon for around US$28bn in cash. Novartis has bought 25% of Alcon in April 2008 for $10.4bn and plans to buy the remaining 23% of the business, offering investors a 12% premium if they agree to exchange their Alcon shares for Novartis ones. The move will cost around $11.2bn

Nestle has also confirmed that it plans to invest GBP15m (US$24.2m) over the next three years to upgrade its York wafer factory which is producing sheets for Kit Kat in the UK.

Nestlé has resumed its operations in Zimbabwe following the suspension of its activities last month over a dispute on buying milk from suppliers linked to the wife of President Robert Mugabe. It had suspended the activities at its Harare factory as “normal business was no longer possible” and the safety of its employees “could not be guaranteed”. On the basis of written assurances given by the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Zimbabwe to guarantee the security of Nestlé management and staff and to not interfere in the company’s operating processes, Nestlé decided to restart the activities at its Harare factory on New Year's Eve.