The NVS-Oriel deal was sufficiently small and sufficiently low-profile* that it was able to get done even while the Alcon deal is pending. A NVS acquisition of MNTA, on the other hand, would be neither small nor low-profile :- )
*Who on this board had even heard of Oriel before I posted #msg-49140096?
“The efficient-market hypothesis may be the foremost piece of B.S. ever promulgated in any area of human knowledge!”