Bausch+Lomb exploring sale - reports

Bausch+Lomb's parent company Warburg Pincus has reportedly tasked Goldman Sachs Group to explore the sale of the contact lens manufacturer with the aim of achieving £6bn, according to Bloomberg.com which broke the story on December 12.

According to the Financial Times (December 12) the New-York based private equity group 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 £6bn target price as the second biggest private equity disposal since the financial crisis.