Bausch & Lomb’s parent exploringpossible $7-10 billion sale

The CEO of pharmaceutical drug manufacturer Merck & Co has said a purchase of B&L is “worth thinking about”.
Sources say Warburg Pincus is looking for a sale for as much as $10 billion.
Bausch & Lomb in Australia had nothing further to add to Insight at time of press.
According to the Financial Times, the New-York based private equity group Warburg Pincus had received expressions of interest from pharmaceuticals groups and while disposal was preferred, it was also weighing up an initial public offering for B&L.
The FT noted that potential bidders for the company, which was formed in 1853 in Rochester, New York, included Abbott Group, Merck & Co, Sanofi, Bayer, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline. It described the £6 billion target price as the second biggest private equity disposal since the financial crisis.
Warburg Pincus took B&L private in 2007 for some £3.7 billion, excluding debt, following a difficult period that included the recall of ‘ReNu MoistureLoc’ and restatents of earnings.
Mr Fred Hassan, former chief executive of drug maker Schering Plough, was appointed chairman of B&L in 2010, and is described by Bloomberg as having a history as a deal-maker in the health-care industry. Mr Brent Saunders, also a former Schering Plough executive, is chief executive.
Mr Adam Grossberg, vice president, global communications and investor relations, told Optician: “Bausch+Lomb is regularly contacted by companies with strategic interest in our company, and we continue to aspire to a return to the public markets in the future. However, our focus rains on building the best global eye health company and therefore won’t comment further.”
Established more than 40 years ago, Warburg Pincus has invested more than $40 billion in over 650 companies in more than 30 countries worldwide.