By Katherine Hamilton
Broadwood Partners said it is continuing to oppose Alcon's proposed acquisition of Staar Surgical, despite the prospective buyer increasing its offer.
The activist investor Broadwood, which owns 30.2% of Staar's stock, said it believes Staar is worth substantially more than the new, higher offer from Alcon. It said it would vote against the revised transaction at the upcoming shareholder meeting.
The eyecare company Alcon said earlier on Tuesday it would pay $30.75 a share for the implantable lens company, an increase from its earlier bid of $28 a share.
Broadwood has opposed Alcon's proposed acquisition of Staar from the start, and recently attempted to call a special shareholder meeting to remove three Staar board members who it believed were pushing the deal. Broadwood says it believes Staar will be stronger as an independent company.
Alcon's new offer came after Staar initiated a go-shop process, which allowed the company to seek out competing bids from other potential buyers. The process didn't generate any new bids.
Broadwood said it thought the go-shop process was performative and designed in a way that wouldn't attract qualified bidders and proposals.
Staar shares were up 10% to $25.91 on Tuesday afternoon following Alcon's higher offer.
Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-09-25 1351ET
