Private equity firms TPG and Blackstone are working on a potential deal to buy Brent Saunders-led eye care company Bausch + Lomb, the Financial Times reports.
Citing “people familiar with the matter,” FT wrote Monday that the groups had already expressed interest in buying Bausch + Lomb before it was publicly listed in 2022. Its stock $BLCO rose about 9% on Monday following the reporting, trading around $21.
Incoming offers for the company are expected to value it at an enterprise value between $13 billion and $14 billion, FT reports, with formal offers expected by as early as the end of October, though “several” other private equity firms considering making an offer have dropped out of the race.
FT added that the sale process for the company is led by advisors at Goldman Sachs and started in order to resolve a feud between shareholders and creditors of its parent company Bausch Health, which is also a majority owner.
Representatives for Bausch, Blackstone and TPG all declined to comment to Endpoints News, with Bausch adding that it doesn’t comment on “rumors or speculation.”
Bausch + Lomb is known for its vision care products like contact lenses and eye drops, including its glaucoma drugs Vyzulta, Timoptic and Istalol. The company recorded $1.2 billion in revenue for the second quarter of 2024, a 17% increase from the same quarter last year.