Nestle's sale is a great deal for shareholders

MORNINGSTAR VIEW: We hope Nestle's Alcon stake sale doesn't mean it's going to make a move for Cadbury

Philip Gorham, CFA 4 January, 2010 | 4:49PM
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Nestle this morning announced that it plans to sell its remaining 52% stake in eye care company Alcon to Novartis for over $28 billion. We think this is a great deal for Nestle's shareholders, because at around $181 per share, we think this is a rich valuation of Alcon.

With around $40 billion in cash at its disposal, and some room for further leverage of its balance sheet, Nestle must now decide how to allocate the capital. This morning, the firm announced that it is to repurchase $10 billion in stock, a decision we are slightly disappointed with because we think that Nestle's shares are currently slightly overvalued. We would prefer to see Nestle make an acquisition of a major nutritional food or pharmaceutical manufacturer such as Danone or Mead Johnson Nutrition Company. We also think that a distribution to shareholders in the form of a dividend would be an efficient use of the cash.

However, we would be disappointed if Nestle made a move for UK confectionery manufacturer Cadbury, currently the target of an acquisition by Kraft, because we think such a move would counteract Nestle's efforts to realign its portfolio in health and wellness categories.

Philip Gorham, CFA is a Morningstar stock analyst.

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Philip Gorham, CFA  Philip Gorham, CFA, is an associate director of equity research for Morningstar.

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