GSK approves asset swap deal with Novartis

LONDON: Shareholders in British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline have approved a planned deal with Switzerland’s Novartis, which will see the two pharmaceutical groups trade more than $20 billion of assets.

GSK said a meeting on Thursday had approved the transaction by an overwhelming majority and the deal was on track to complete in the first half of 2015.

The transaction, which includes GSK buying Novartis’ vaccines business, Novartis purchasing GSK’s cancer drugs, and the two groups tying up in consumer healthcare, was first unveiled in April.

US antitrust regulators approved the deal in November, after Novartis agreed to divest its nicotine patch Habitrol, while European Union antitrust regulators will decide by Jan 14 whether to clear the arrangement.—Reuters

Google looks to head off lawsuit over Android

SAN JOSE: Google will try to persuade a US judge on Thursday to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit over its Android smartphone operating system, as the Internet search company faces increased regulatory pressure from European authorities.

The hearing in San Jose, California, federal court is over the lawsuit filed by two smartphone consumers who say Google Inc requires Android handset manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to restrict competing apps like Microsoft Corp’s Bing search, partly by making Google’s own apps the default.

Google argues in its court filings that the proposed class action should be dismissed because consumers still are free to use the other apps. The plaintiffs counter that most consumers either do not know how to switch default settings, or will not go to the trouble.

Last month, the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a non-binding resolution urging antitrust authorities to break up Google.—Reuters

Nestle’s 1st non-European Dolce Gusto factory

VEVEY: Nestle plans to open a Nescafe Dolce Gusto factory in Southeast Brazil next year, its first outside of Europe, as the world’s largest coffee company prepares for rising demand in Latin America.

Switzerland’s Nestle said it will invest 72 million Swiss francs ($73.48m) in the factory, which will be based in Montes Clares, in Minas Gerais.

The factory will make coffee capsules for the Nescafe Dolce Gusto single-serve coffee system and will supply the domestic market as well as other Latin American countries.—Reuters

First Etihad superjumbo to take off next week

ABU DHABI: The maiden flight of Etihad Airways’ long-awaited Airbus A380 superjumbo will take place next week, the Abu Dhabi carrier said on Thursday, also announcing its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner route.

The rapidly growing airline said it had nine more A380s and 71 additional 787s on order, describing the delivery of the first two planes in its updated fleet as “momentous”.

The A380 is to enter commercial service on December 27 with a flight to London Heathrow, while Etihad’s first 787 flight will land in Duesseldorf in Germany on February 1 next year.

Etihad chief executive James Hogan said the carrier wants to be deploy the double-decker on “slot-constrained” destinations.

“By deploying the A380 on to London, we’ll be able to sell more seats, and that’s the same for Sydney and New York,” Hogan told AFP, pointing out Etihad’s three Heathrow slots were insufficient.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2014