Twenty-one months into his second tenure as CEO of Bausch + Lomb, serial dealmaker Brent Saunders has so far come up empty in his latest attempt to sell the company. But it hasn’t been for lack of trying.
The company, which sells contact lenses and eye care products, has issued a statement saying that its board had authorized “management and its advisors to explore a potential sale, which is one of several options being explored to complete a full separation” from its parent, Bausch Health Companies.
The statement came in response, Bausch + Lomb said, to a request from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), which wanted an explanation for the recent volatility in the company’s stock.
“While the company normally would not comment on deal negotiations, CIRO requested confirmation of a potential sale process,” said Bausch + Lomb, adding that it “does not intend to provide additional detail until further disclosure is appropriate or necessary.”
Two months ago, when the Financial Times reported that private equity firms Blackstone and TPG were working together on a joint takeover, Bausch + Lomb’s stock price spiked by 29%. On Tuesday, when FT revealed that Blackstone had “cooled” on the buyout, the company’s stock tumbled by 14%.
The Ontario-based company is traded on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges.
A buyout would be one of the largest private equity healthcare deals of the year as Bausch + Lomb has an “enterprise value” of between $13 billion and $14 billion, sources told FT.
In February of 2023, Saunders replaced Joe Papa as Bausch + Lomb's CEO, bringing a resume highlighted by his dealmaking prowess. In 2013, in his third year as CEO in his first tenure with Bausch + Lomb, he orchestrated Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ $8.7 billion buyout of the company. In 2018, scandal-plagued Valeant rebranded into Bausch Health.
After selling off Bausch + Lomb, Saunders took over as CEO at Forest Laboratories, where it took him five months to execute its sale to Actavis for $25 billion in February of 2014. He was tapped to lead the combined company, and in November of 2014, Saunders' Actavis pulled off a $70 billion acquisition of Allergan.
In 2016, his attempt to sell Allergan to Pfizer and become its CEO fell through. Three years later, Saunders sold Allergan to AbbVie for $63 billion.