Contact lens maker Bausch + Lomb says it is exploring sale

(Reuters) - Bausch + Lomb is exploring a potential sale among other options, it said on Thursday, in a move that would help Canadian parent Bausch Health exit the eye-care company.

Bausch + Lomb also said its statement was in response to a request from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) after a series of media reports on its likely sale triggered volatility in its shares.

The Financial Times reported on Oct. 14 that private equity firms TPG and Blackstone were working on a joint bid to take the company private for up to $11.5 billion, including debt.

A month prior, the FT had reported that the company had hired an investment bank to explore a sale, sending its shares surging more than 37% until the newspaper's report on Blackstone's cooling interest earlier this week led to a sharp fall in its stock price.

A sale could end a long process by parent Bausch Health to offload its stake in the eyecare company.

In 2022, Bausch Health separated the business into another publicly listed company but retained a majority stake.

Bausch + Lomb, which is one of the world's largest contact lens suppliers, is helmed by noted dealmaker Brent Saunders.

He was previously the CEO of Allergan before it was sold to AbbVie for $63 billion.

The company also makes surgical devices, prescription drugs and generic eye products.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh, Kashish Tandon, Sriparna Roy and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Anil D'Silva)

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