Novartis is looking for a strategic buyer with a vision for the Hotel Lek

  • Novartis reached a decision to sell its real estate assets not vital for the company’s long-term operations in a phased approach. In accordance with the new facility management strategy, Novartis decided to sell Hotel Lek, the real estate and the business.
  • During the sales procedure, Novartis will seek to find an acquirer with a long-term strategic business plan and a vision for the further development of the Hotel Lek and its employees.
  • The Hotel Lek will continue to operate smoothly until the divestment process is finished.
9. 5. 2016

In 2015, Novartis reached a decision to sell its real estate assets not vital for the company’s core industry in a phased approach. In accordance with the new facility management strategy, Novartis decided to sell the company Hotel Lek d. o. o. (hereinafter referred to as Hotel Lek). The subject of sale is Hotel Lek, which comprises the real estate, and the business, both free of debt and all encumbrances. However, the trademark is not offered for sale. During the sales procedure, Novartis will seek to find an established buyer with a long-term strategic business plan and a vision for the further development of the Hotel Lek.

“Novartis is introducing a new facility management strategy focusing on our core business – the development and production of medications. Hotel industry and tourism are not our core industry, therefore Novartis decided to sell the Hotel Lek in September 2015,” explained Tomaž Dvoršak, director of Real Estate and Facility Services in Lek, a Sandoz company.

Novartis would like to find an appropriate buyer and execute the sale transaction with due responsibility towards all employees currently working at the Hotel Lek. “The Hotel Lek will continue to operate smoothly under the same conditions until the divestment process is finished. The hotel management and staff will continue to take care of our guests and make sure their stay at the hotel will not be affected by these changes and will remain comfortable,” stressed Lidija Dokl, the manager of the Hotel Lek. 

“For more than 44 years, the Hotel Lek has been an integral part of Kranjska Gora and its surroundings. Last October, as soon as the decision was made, Lek, a Sandoz company, has informed us about the planned divestment. This is an expression of confidence based on long-term active cooperation between Lek and the local community of Kranjska Gora. We would like Novartis to find a strategic buyer with development plans for the hotel to remain an important element of the local community and contribute to the tourist facilities in the region,” said Janez Hrovat, the mayor of the municipality Kranjska Gora.

The valuation of the Hotel Lek was performed by CBRE, the world’s leading commercial property and real estate services adviser, with its headquarters in Great Britain, and the Swiss company Wüest & Partner, an independent consulting firm focusing on construction, property markets, and urban and regional planning. The company CBRE with its representative office in Croatia was selected to take on the selling process of the Hotel Lek.

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Lek, a Sandoz company, is one of the key pillars of the second-largest generic pharmaceutical company globally. Its role within Sandoz is to act as: a leading global development center for technologically demanding products and technologies; a key global manufacturing center for active pharmaceutical ingredients and medicines; a competence center for the development of vertically integrated products; a Sandoz competence center in the field of development and manufacturing of biosimilar active ingredients and products; a supply center for the markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), South East Europe (SEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and is responsible for marketing and sales of Sandoz products on the Slovenian market. For further information, please visit www.lek.si.

 

Sandoz, a division of Novartis, is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals, driving sustainable access to high-quality healthcare. Sandoz employs more than 26,000 people worldwide and supplies a broad range of affordable products to patients and customers around the globe.

The Sandoz global portfolio comprises approximately 1,100 molecules, which accounted for 2014 sales of USD 9.6 billion. Sandoz holds the global #1 position in biosimilars as well as in generic anti-infectives, ophthalmics and transplantation medicines. Sandoz also holds leading global positions in key therapeutic areas ranging from generic injectables, dermatology and respiratory to cardiovascular, metabolism, central nervous system, pain and gastrointestinal.

Sandoz develops, produces and markets finished dosage form (FDF) medicines as well as intermediary products including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and biotechnological substances. Nearly half of the Sandoz portfolio is in differentiated products – medicines that are scientifically more difficult to develop and manufacture than standard generics.

In addition to strong organic growth since consolidating its generics businesses under the Sandoz brand name in 2003, Sandoz has consistently driven growth in selected geographies and differentiated product areas through a series of targeted acquisitions, including Hexal (Germany), EBEWE Pharma (Austria), and Fougera Pharmaceuticals (US).

Sandoz is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Sandoz_global at http://twitter.com/Sandoz_Global.

Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care and cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals. Novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2015, the Group achieved net sales of USD 49.4 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 8.9 billion (USD 8.7 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 118,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are available in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.novartis.com.

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This press release contains statements and conclusions based on projections of Lek’s future business operations. These estimates are derived from the best information currently available. In case these forecasts prove unreliable, the actual results could prove different from those projected.

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For additional information contact:

Katarina Klemenc
Corporate Communications
Lek Pharmaceuticals d. d.
Phone: +386 1 580 22 43
Fax: +386 1 580 24 32
katarina.klemenc@sandoz.com


For further information regarding the purchase of the Hotel Lek, please contact:

CBRE Croatia, Ana Brkić, IN- RE d.o.o., Zagreb, Hrvaška
Phone: +385 1 618 73 50
Mobile: +385 911 653 419
ana@cbre.hr

and

S-Invest d.o.o., Jacqueline Stuart
Phone: +386 0590 75 780
Mobile: +386  41 251 646
jax@hotelinvest.international