By Elias Schisgall
Shareholders of Staar Surgical rejected a proposal to sell the company to Alcon for about $1.6 billion, a win for activist investors who had campaigned to block the deal
Staar, a maker of implantable lenses, said preliminary results from its Tuesday shareholder meeting indicated that too few investors had supported the proposal for eyecare company Alcon to acquire Staar for $30.75 a share.
Staar will remain a standalone company traded on Nasdaq, and neither party will pay a termination fee, the company said Tuesday.
"The board approved the Alcon agreement because we determined that it was in the best interests of STAAR stockholders," Staar Chief Executive Stephen Farrell said. "We respect the outcome of the vote and look forward to working collaboratively with shareholders to ensure the best possible outcome for STAAR as a standalone company."
Many Staar stakeholders, including activist Broadwood Partners, which owns 30.2% of shares, had lobbied against the acquisition even after Alcon raised its bid from $28 a share. Broadwood also had pushed for a special meeting of shareholders to remove three board directors, including Farrell.
Alcon shares were up 1.9% to $82.19, while Staar shares fell 12% to $21.03 in Tuesday morning trading. Staar's stock has fallen 9.9% in the past year.
Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-06-26 1011ET
