STAAR Surgical stock soars after Alcon announces $1.5B acquisition

Published 05/08/2025, 14:42
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Investing.com -- STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ:STAA) stock surged 44.8% following the announcement that Alcon (SIX:ALC) (NYSE:ALC) will acquire the company in a deal valued at approximately $1.5 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Alcon will purchase all outstanding shares of STAAR for $28 per share in cash, representing a 59% premium to STAAR’s 90-day Volume Weighted Average Price and a 51% premium to its closing price on August 4, 2025.

The acquisition includes STAAR’s EVO family of Implantable Collamer Lenses ( ICL (TASE:ICL)), which are designed for vision correction in patients with moderate to high myopia, with or without astigmatism.

"We believe the transaction with Alcon represents the best path forward and provides the greatest value for STAAR shareholders," said Stephen Farrell, CEO of STAAR. "As we’ve shared, fluctuating demand in China over the past two years has continued to create significant headwinds for STAAR as a standalone company."

Alcon CEO David Endicott noted that the acquisition would enhance the company’s ability to "offer a leading surgical vision correction solution for those who are not ideal candidates for other refractive surgeries such as LASIK."

Canaccord Genuity analyst John Young raised the price target on STAAR Surgical to $28.00 from $20.00 while maintaining a Hold rating. "The deal is interesting to us; on one hand it ends the near-term pain that STAAR investors have experienced with the China business, but Alcon’s positioning in the press release clearly shows that they are viewing EVO as an alternative for those who are not candidates for LASIK, rather than an alternative to LASIK itself," Young commented.

The transaction is expected to close in approximately six to 12 months, subject to regulatory approval and approval by STAAR’s shareholders. Alcon anticipates the acquisition will be accretive to earnings in the second year.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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