Novartis to acquire Tourmaline Bio (TRML) via planned tender offer

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Novartis, through its subsidiary Torino Merger Sub Inc., plans a third-party tender offer to acquire all outstanding common shares of Tourmaline Bio, Inc. under a merger agreement dated September 8, 2025. The communication explains that the tender offer has not yet started and that formal offer materials will be filed on Schedule TO, while Tourmaline will respond on Schedule 14D-9. Investors are urged to carefully read the offer to purchase, letter of transmittal, related documents and Tourmaline’s recommendation statement when available, as these will contain important details before any decision to tender shares. The filing also includes extensive forward-looking statements language outlining risks that could affect the completion, timing and benefits of the proposed acquisition and references multiple Novartis and Tourmaline SEC reports for additional risk information.

Insights

M&A and securities law analyst

Pre-commencement filing outlines Novartis’ planned tender offer for all Tourmaline Bio shares and highlights key procedural and deal risks.

This communication describes a planned cash tender offer structure in which Torino Merger Sub Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Novartis, intends to acquire all outstanding common shares of Tourmaline Bio under a merger agreement dated September 8, 2025. It is a Schedule TO-C pre-commencement notice, so it does not yet include economic terms such as price or total consideration, but confirms that a third-party tender offer subject to Rule 14d-1 is expected.

The text emphasizes that the tender offer has not commenced and that the actual offer will be made only through a Schedule TO with an offer to purchase, letter of transmittal and related documents, while Tourmaline will respond with a Schedule 14D-9 recommendation. It also contains extensive forward-looking statements identifying key risks to closing, including failure to satisfy customary conditions such as tender of a majority of shares, receipt of regulatory approvals on acceptable terms, and potential competing bids.

For investors in TRML, the main takeaway is that a potential change of control transaction is planned but still subject to multiple contingencies and regulatory steps described in the risk discussion. Subsequent SEC filings, including the full Schedule TO and Tourmaline’s Schedule 14D-9, will provide the binding offer terms, board recommendations, and further details on timing and closing conditions referenced here.

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE TO

TENDER OFFER STATEMENT UNDER SECTION 14(D)(1) OR (13)(E)(1)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

TOURMALINE BIO, INC.
(Name of Subject Company (Issuer))

TORINO MERGER SUB INC.

(Offeror)
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of

NOVARTIS AG

(Offeror)
(Name of Filing Persons (identifying status as offeror, issuer or other person))

Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share

(Title of Class of Securities)

89157D105

(CUSIP Number of Class of Securities)

Karen L. Hale

Chief Legal and Compliance Officer

Novartis AG
Lichstrasse 35
CH-4056 Basel
Switzerland
Telephone: +41-61-324-1111
(Name, Address, and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications on Behalf of Filing Persons)

With copies to:

Joseph E. Gilligan

Mahvesh A. Qureshi

Gabrielle M. Witt

Jessica A. Bisignano
Hogan Lovells US LLP
555 Thirteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004-1109
+1 (202) 637-5600

x Check the box if the filing relates solely to preliminary communications made before the commencement of a tender offer.

Check the appropriate boxes below to designate any transactions to which the statement relates:

x	Third-party tender offer subject to Rule 14d-1.
¨	Issuer tender offer subject to Rule 13e-4.
¨	Going-private transaction subject to Rule 13e-3.
¨	Amendment to Schedule 13D under Rule 13d-2.

Check the following box if the filing is a final amendment reporting the results of the tender offer: ¨

If applicable, check the appropriate box(es) below to designate the appropriate rule provision(s) relied upon:

¨	Rule 13e-4(i) (Cross-Border Issuer Tender Offer)
¨	Rule 14d-1(d) (Cross-Border Third-Party Tender Offer)

The pre-commencement communication filed under cover of this tender offer statement on Schedule TO is being filed by Novartis AG, a company organized under the laws of Switzerland (“Novartis”), and Torino Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Purchaser”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Novartis, in connection with a planned tender offer by Purchaser for all of the outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 (the “Shares”), of Tourmaline Bio, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Tourmaline”). The planned tender offer will be made pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of September 8, 2025, by and among Novartis, Purchaser and Tourmaline (the “Merger Agreement”).

Important Information about the Tender Offer

This document is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any Shares or any other securities of Tourmaline. The tender offer for the outstanding Shares described in this communication has not commenced. At the time the tender offer is commenced, Novartis and Purchaser will file a tender offer statement on Schedule TO, including an offer to purchase, a letter of transmittal and related documents, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and Tourmaline will file a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with the SEC, in each case with respect to the tender offer.

INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO CAREFULLY READ BOTH THE TENDER OFFER MATERIALS (INCLUDING AN OFFER TO PURCHASE, A LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND RELATED DOCUMENTS) AND THE SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT ON SCHEDULE 14D-9 REGARDING THE TENDER OFFER, AS THEY MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME, WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING ANY DECISION REGARDING TENDERING THEIR SECURITIES.

An offer to purchase the Shares will only be made pursuant to the offer to purchase, the letter of transmittal and related offer documents filed as a part of the Schedule TO. Those materials and all other documents filed by, or caused to be filed by, Novartis, Purchaser and Tourmaline with the SEC will be available at no charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by directing such requests to the information agent for the offer, which will be named in the tender offer statement. The offer to purchase and related materials also may be obtained for free under the “Investors – Financial Data” section of Novartis AG’s website at www.novartis.com/investors/financial-data/sec-filings. The solicitation/recommendation statement also may be obtained for free under the “News & Investors” section of Tourmaline’s website at ir.tourmalinebio.com/financials-filings/sec-filings. In addition, Tourmaline files annual, quarterly and current reports and other information, and Novartis files annual reports and other information with the SEC, which are also available to the public at no charge at www.sec.gov.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains statements that are not statements of historical fact, or “forward-looking statements,” including with respect to Novartis’ proposed acquisition of Tourmaline. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as “potential,” “can,” “will,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “look forward,” “believe,” “committed,” “investigational,” “pipeline,” “launch,” or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for Tourmaline’s product candidates, Tourmaline’s platform, the proposed acquisition of Tourmaline and the expected timetable for completing the proposed acquisition, the benefits sought to be achieved in the proposed acquisition, or potential future revenues from Tourmaline’s product candidates. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on Novartis’ current beliefs and expectations regarding future events and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that clinical trials for any of Tourmaline’s product candidates will be successful, that Tourmaline’s approach to the discovery and development of product candidates based on its AOC™ platform will produce any products of commercial value, that any of Tourmaline’s product candidates will be submitted for marketing approval or approved for sale or, if approved, receive approval for any additional indications or labeling, in any market, or at any particular time, nor can there be any guarantee that, if approved, any of Tourmaline’s product candidates will be commercially successful in the future. Neither can there be any guarantee that the conditions to the closing of the proposed acquisition will be satisfied on the expected timetable or at all or that the expected benefits or synergies from this transaction will be achieved in the expected timeframe, or at all. In particular, expectations regarding Tourmaline or the transaction described in this communication could be affected by, among other things, the timing of the offer and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of Tourmaline common stock and the receipt of regulatory approvals on acceptable terms or at all; the risk that competing offers or acquisition proposals will be made; the effects of disruption from the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement and the impact of the announcement and pendency of the transactions on Novartis and/or Tourmaline’s businesses, including their relationships with employees, business partners or governmental entities; the risk that the offer or the merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated; the risk that stockholder litigation in connection with the offer or the merger may result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; a diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities as a result of the offer, the merger or otherwise; general industry conditions and competition; general political, economic and business conditions, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG’s and Tourmaline’s filings and reports with the SEC, including Novartis AG’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024, Tourmaline’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2025 and June 30, 2025, and any subsequent filings made by either party with the SEC, available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Novartis is providing the information in this communication as of this date and Novartis does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this communication as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.		Description
99.1		Press release issued by Novartis AG, dated September 9, 2025
99.2		LinkedIn post from Shreeram Aradhye, M.D., President, Development and Chief Medical Officer of Novartis AG, dated September 9, 2025
99.3		LinkedIn post from Aharon (Ronny) Gal, Ph.D., Chief Strategy & Growth Officer of Novartis AG, dated September 9, 2025
99.4		Email to Tourmaline employees, dated September 9, 2025
99.5		Novartis AG employee intranet post, dated September 9, 2025

FAQ

What transaction involving Tourmaline Bio (TRML) does Novartis plan?

Novartis, through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary Torino Merger Sub Inc., plans a third-party tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Tourmaline Bio, Inc. pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated September 8, 2025.

Has the tender offer for Tourmaline Bio (TRML) shares started yet?

No. The communication explicitly states that the tender offer has not commenced. It is a pre-commencement notice, and the actual offer will begin only when Novartis and Torino Merger Sub file a full Schedule TO with the offer to purchase and related documents.

What documents will be filed with the SEC for the Novartis–Tourmaline tender offer?

When the tender offer begins, Novartis and Torino Merger Sub will file a tender offer statement on Schedule TO that includes an offer to purchase, a letter of transmittal and related documents. Tourmaline Bio will file a Schedule 14D-9 solicitation/recommendation statement with its position on the offer.

What does the filing urge Tourmaline Bio (TRML) investors and security holders to do?

Investors and security holders are urged to carefully read the tender offer materials (including the offer to purchase, letter of transmittal and related documents) and Tourmaline’s Schedule 14D-9, as they may be amended from time to time, when they become available, because they will contain important information for deciding whether to tender shares.

Where can investors access the Novartis–Tourmaline tender offer documents when available?

All tender offer documents filed by Novartis, Torino Merger Sub and Tourmaline will be available free of charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. They may also be accessed via the “Investors – Financial Data” section of Novartis’s website and the “News & Investors” section of Tourmaline’s investor relations website.

What key risks to the proposed Novartis acquisition of Tourmaline Bio are highlighted?

The forward-looking statements section notes risks including the timing of the offer, satisfaction of customary closing conditions such as tender of a majority of Tourmaline shares and regulatory approvals, potential competing offers, disruption to businesses and relationships, litigation risk, and uncertainties related to clinical development, regulation and market conditions.

What exhibits are included with this Novartis–Tourmaline tender offer communication?

The exhibit index lists several communications dated September 9, 2025, including a press release from Novartis AG, LinkedIn posts from Novartis executives, an email to Tourmaline employees, and a Novartis employee intranet post, all relating to the planned acquisition.