Novartis has completed the spinoff of Alcon, an eye-care company it acquired nearly a decade ago for $12.9 billion. The Basel, Switzerland-based company first announced the planned separation in June of last year.

The spinout was completed through a dividend-in-kind distribution to holders of Novartis shares and American Depositary Receipts (ADR), with each holder receiving 1 Alcon share for every 5 Novartis shares or ADRs held on April 8, 2019, at the close of business.

The newly spun-out company is performing extremely well on the market. Alcon’s ADR (were trading at $57.81 leaving the company to be valued at nearly $29 billion.

Novartis said the spin-off helps it have a financial profile closer to its pharmaceutical industry peers, including higher group margins. The firm said it is now well-positioned for sustained top- and bottom-line growth and plans to improve Innovative Medicines core margins into the mid-30s by 2022.

“This is an incredibly exciting day for both Novartis and Alcon,” Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis,said in a release. “Alcon has demonstrated consistent growth and is coming to market from a position of strength. We wish them the very best for the future At Novartis, we continue to reimagine ourselves as a leading medicines company powered by breakthrough medicines, data science and advanced therapy platforms. We are well positioned for the future and I am excited for our associates, our investors, and most importantly for patients."

Alcon hasn’t just been sitting by idly waiting for the split to occur. Last month the company revealed it was busy on the M&A scene when it said it was picking up PowerVision, a company developing fluid-based intraocular lens implants for $285 million.

In December of 2018, Alcon acquired Tear Film Innovations, a company that makes a device to treat a leading cause of dry eye, for an undisclosed sum.