Bausch & Lomb agrees to buy Ista Pharmaceuticals for $500 million

Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc., the Irvine maker of eye medications that fought off a hostile takeover bid this year, agreed to be bought by Bausch & Lomb Inc. for $500 million.

Bausch will pay $9.10 a share in cash for Ista, and the deal should close in the second quarter, the companies said Monday. The bid from the Rochester, N.Y., eye-care company, owned by Warburg Pincus, is 8.6% higher than Monday’s closing price for Ista of $8.38 a share.

Ista, which sells Istalol for intraocular pressure and Bromday for issues associated with cataract extraction, rebuffed a $327-million hostile bid by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., calling it “grossly inadequate.” Valeant, Canada’s largest drugmaker, dropped its offer of $7.50 a share Jan. 30, citing lack of progress making a deal.

“Because Bausch & Lomb already manufactures nearly all of Ista’s current U.S. products, our companies have known each other well for many years,” Brent Saunders, president and chief executive of Bausch & Lomb, said in a statement. “With this combination, we will significantly enhance our pharmaceutical pipeline, nearly doubling the number of mid- to late-stage innovations.”