Loans may lose out on Novartis

This year had been billed as the one in which high levels of M&A financing would bring the loan market back to a healthy level of deals. But in one of the first M&A deals of the year, Novartis may shun the loan market to raise $16bn for its $38.5bn takeover of Alcon and is likely to tap the bond market instead. To find out more about this deal and the prospects for acquisition financing in 2010, read EuroWeek on Friday.