Leading eye care company Bausch & Lomb had entered into an agreement to be sold to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International of Canada. The cost of the sale is about US$8.7 billion, avoiding the more difficult process of an initial public offer.
The deal requires that Valeant would be paying US$4.5 billion to Warburg Pincus, the private equity group that owns Bausch & Lomb. The pharmaceutical firm would also be paying for the outstanding debt of the company worth US$4.2 billion.
The Laval, Quebec based pharmaceutical firm has made acquisitions its top level priority to develop business and foster growth. This deal is the company's biggest to date, about three times larger than the acquisition cost for Medicis Pharmaceuticals worth US$2.6 billion.
With the acquisition of Bausch & Lomb, whose core businesses are in contact lens solutions and surgical devices, the portfolio offering in this sector of the healthcare industry by Valeant would significantly be increased. In turn, Bausch & Lomb would absorb Valeant's existing ophthalmology unit to create a business unit that can generate nearly US$3.5 billion in net revenue for 2013 alone.
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