Lake Forest-based Staar Surgical to be Acquired in $1.5-Billion Transaction

Global eye care company Alcon announced the acquisition of Lake Forest-based Staar Surgical Co. in a transaction with a total equity value of approximately $1.5 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Alcon will purchase all outstanding shares of Staar common stock for $28 per share in cash, which represents approximately a 59% premium to the company’s 90-day volume-weighted average price and a 51% premium to the closing price of Staar common stock on August 4 when the deal was first announced.

“With the number of high myopes rising globally, the acquisition of Staar enhances our ability to offer a leading surgical vision correction solution for those who are not ideal candidates for other refractive surgeries such as Lasik,” said David Endicott, chief executive of Alcon, in a statement. “This transaction will allow us to provide treatment options across the full spectrum of myopia from contact lenses to surgical interventions.”

An estimated 50% of the world will be myopic by 2050, and today nearly 500 million people are considered high myopes. Staar manufactures a family of contact lenses for vision correction for patients with moderate to high myopia (nearsightedness), with or without astigmatism.

The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. Alcon intends to finance the transaction through the issuance of short- and long-term credit facilities. It is anticipated to close in approximately six to 12 months. The boards of directors of Alcon and Staar have each unanimously approved the transaction.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC is serving as financial advisor to Alcon, and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP is serving as legal advisor to Alcon. Citi is serving as financial advisor to Staar, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is serving as legal advisor to Staar.

Information for this article was sourced from Staar Surgical Co.