Bausch and Lomb ‘attracting buyers for potential takeover’

Bausch and Lomb is attracting interest from several leading healthcare companies over a potential acquisition, according to industry sources.

Unnamed insiders have informed Bloomberg that Abbott, Johnson and Johnson and Sanofi have all shown interest in purchasing the eyecare company from its current owner, the private equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Meanwhile, Merck Sharpe and Dohme and Pfizer are also said to be considering bids and receiving confidential financial information on a possible takeover, with Warburg Pincus seeking around $10 billion (6.24 billion pounds) from any proposed deal.

It is thought that large organisations such as Abbott would be willing to buy the whole company and subsume or sell off smaller non-core divisions at a later date, while the likes of Sanofi would be more likely to only wish to acquire parts of the business.

Bausch and Lomb was purchased by the private equity group in 2007 for $4.6 billion, since which time the company has increased considerably in value.

Originally founded in 1853, the firm now employs approximately 10,000 members of staff worldwide, with products available in more than 100 countries.