CEO of Novartis said he could spend $ 4.6 billion annually in purchases

Zurich-Switzerland Novartis drug maker can spend 4 billion to 6 billion dollars a year in acquisitions to strengthen its core businesses of generics, ophthalmology and pharmaceutical, or its three smaller units, said its Chief Executive in an interview on Sunday.
"Novartis's cash flow is great enough each year to increase dividends to shareholders, and at the same time carry out acquisitions within the same sector. We spend 4 billion to 6 billion dollars in these, "said Joe Jimenez, Chief Executive, the Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag.
He said that Novartis can spend 2 billion to 4 billion in acquisitions that can strengthen one of its three major units.
"For the smaller units, also there could be acquisitions within the same sector, but will be less," he said.
Asked if he shared the vision of Pierre Landolt, Board member of the Novartis, that a merger of Novartis and Roche would make sense, Jimenez said in the interview: "I believe that Switzerland is benefiting from the fact that it has two very successful pharmaceutical companies".
He said the Roche and Novartis have very different strategies, with Roche being a purely pharmaceutical company Novartis and being more diverse.