Nearly 1 year after Alcon, Inc. and LENSAR, Inc. announced a definitive merger agreement, the companies have agreed to terminate the proposed deal.
The decision follows pressure from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) … but more on that later.
Isn’t this the second Alcon merger to fall through?
Indeed it is. If you’ll recall, the company’s other proposed deal to acquire STAAR Surgical, Inc. was terminated earlier this year—after a contentious few months of STAAR’s shareholders expressing opposition to the merger.
Noted. So when was the LENSAR deal originally announced?
March 2025. At the time, Alcon shared plans to purchase all of the Orlando, Florida-based medical device company’s outstanding shares ($14 per share in cash)—clocking in at an aggregated value around $356 million.
- See here for the conditional component to this.
In all: The deal had the potential to total an estimated $430 million.
Noted. And why LENSAR?
You may know the company for its portfolio of advanced laser solutions targeting cataract and astigmatism management.
Among these: the FDA-cleared ALLY Robotic Cataract Laser System. Details on this here.
How would this have benefited Alcon?
The major selling point: An expansion of Alcon’s femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) portfolio—which, as we previously reported, currently only extends to the LenSx Laser System.
Backing this up: LENSAR’s ALLY System has been found to save patients up to 51 minutes (from marking through cataract removal) compared to those treated with the LenSx laser and manual marking.
Impressive. So what led to the decision to terminate?
Alcon CEO David J. Endicott noted that a delay and associated costs of the deal’s extended regulatory review period had “rendered the transaction unattractive to pursue further.”
This was specifically in light of the FTC’s opposition, he added.
LENSAR President and CEO Nick Curtis expressed similar sentiments, noting the company’s disappointment with the outcome as well as “the FTC’s intention to challenge the proposed transaction.”
Tell me more about this opposition.
The FTC has made no secret of the “substantial competitive concerns” that would ensue if Alcon and LENSAR were to combine.
- Case in point: Its continued request for additional information on the transaction led to that aforementioned extended regulatory period … and eventual demise.
Referring to them as the “two most significant players in the market for laser systems used in (FLACS),” the FTC noted that the companies’ current competition helps keep prices lower while encouraging innovation in the FLACS market.
And if they had merged?
FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera noted that the acquisition would have reduced competition, raised prices, and slowed down innovation in cataract surgery technology.
- “Competitors simply cannot attempt to buy out rivals to get out from the heat of pricing and innovation competition,” he stated.
As such, an investigation into the deal “produced evidence of consumer harm so substantial that the merging firms threw up a white flag rather than risk facing the FTC in court,” he continued.
So this deal wouldn’t have benefited ECPs or patients in the long run?
That’s the reasoning the FTC is giving—despite Alcon’s Endicott stating the company’s belief that it actually would have “significantly enhanced FLACS innovation and competition to the benefit of surgeons and patients.”
Interesting … now, what’s next for LENSAR?
The company intends to continue growing its influence and technology footprint in the refractive cataract surgery space via an expansion of the ALLY System.
Curtis also hinted at plans to share more details on its future strategy during the release of financial results on March 31.
- Plus, according to some reports: The company may be eyeing an alternative investor that the FTC will view more favorably.
We’ll keep you posted on developments!