Bausch + Lomb trumps failed Valeant bid for ISTA with $500m deal
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Eye care firm Bausch + Lomb has agreed to acquire ISTA Pharmaceuticals for $9.10 per share, or around $500 million in total, in cash. The deal represents a premium of 10% to ISTA's share price on 23 March, the last trading day before the transaction went public yesterday, and trumps the salvo of hostile offers from Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which rapidly escalated its bid from $6.50 per share last December through $7.50 to $8.50, but then withdrew from the running as its debt was downgraded by Moody's (scripintelligence.com, 31 January 2012).