Alcon Directors have stated that Novartis' offer to acquire the minority shareholders in the company is "grossly inadequate". The remark came from the independent Directors of the eye-care group on Wednesday.

Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, had offered to buy the remaining 23% stake in Alcon for $11.2 Billion, after it had agreed to purchase Nestle's 52% share earlier this month. Together, the deals would give Novartis a 77% stake in the company.

"The price and other terms proposed by Novartis are grossly inadequate and... the financial analysis upon which Novartis' unilateral proposal is based is fundamentally flawed", the Alcon committee said.

Under the current offer, Novartis is offering Alcon's minority shareholders 2.8 of its own shares for each share of the company they hold, which comes to an equivalent of about $151 per share based on Wednesday's price.

The price offered is much lower when compared to the $168 Novartis paid to Nestle per share, and the $180 that it has agreed to pay per share for the second tranche of the deal. It is this discrepancy that has led to the outrage, and Alcon's management now requires the drug maker to sweeten its bid.