Bausch & Lomb Purchase Complete
Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm, completed their acquisition of Bausch & Lomb the last week of October. The final purchase price was $4.5 billion. Of that price, Warburg Pincus took on approximately $830 million in debt. News of the acquisition was posted on the Bausch & Lomb website.
The acquisition offers Bausch & Lomb a new opportunity recover and grow in the ophthalmology industry, potentially exploring new areas of business. In particular, executives from the company acknowledge the support of the new ownership in addressing challenges experienced during the past year.
The company faced significant public scrutiny in May 2006 following an outbreak of fungal infections, so severe in some cases as to cause blindness. The infections launched a worldwide recall of Bausch & Lomb lens solution.
Bausch & Lomb has 13,000 employees. Last year, the company has $2.3 billion in sales. The company’s stock ceased trading on the NYSE and was delisted. Reports suggest that the company may return to public trading within the next five to seven years.
Approval of the deal by company shareholders, proposed by Warburg Pincus was previously posted on Hospital Buyer.
November 2, 2007 Related topics: Mergers & Acquisitions, Ophthalmology