STAAR Surgical Announces Expiration of Go-Shop Period

STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), the global leader in phakic IOLs with the EVO family of Implantable Collamer Lenses (EVO ICL) for vision correction, today announced the expiration of the previously announced go-shop period pursuant to STAAR’s amended merger agreement with Alcon Inc. (SIX/NYSE: ALC). The go-shop period expired at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 6, 2025. No proposals were received prior to the expiration.

During the go-shop period, STAAR, with the assistance of its financial advisor, Citi, actively solicited acquisition proposals from a wide range of potentially interested third parties. In total, STAAR engaged with 21 third parties, including financial sponsors, potential strategic acquirers and the parties previously identified in STAAR’s proxy statement as Party A, B and C. Two of the 21 parties signed non-disclosure agreements, received diligence information from STAAR and engaged in discussions with STAAR management. However, none of the 21 parties submitted a competing acquisition proposal during the go-shop period.

Since the execution of the Alcon merger agreement in August 2025, Broadwood Partners, L.P. has alleged that numerous parties were interested in acquiring STAAR and that STAAR’s Board and management team ignored inbound interest. Despite STAAR’s active outreach to potential bidders during the go-shop period, only two parties showed interest to take the first step of executing a non-disclosure agreement. Broadwood has repeatedly referred to the purported interest of Party A, B and C to undermine the thoughtful process overseen by STAAR’s experienced and independent Board, and the outcome of the go-shop process discredits Broadwood’s allegations. Party A, B and C did not sign a non-disclosure agreement to receive information regarding STAAR. The outcome of the go-shop process exposes Broadwood’s unrealistic assumptions regarding the potential interest of Party A, B and C and others in acquiring STAAR.

“The STAAR Board conducted a thoughtful sale process before the transaction was announced that was based on its extensive M&A experience, careful consideration of potential alternatives and its informed view of the ophthalmic space – experience and information that Broadwood does not possess,” said Stephen Farrell, CEO of STAAR. “The results of this go-shop confirm that the process that the Board pursued before approving the merger agreement – and its knowledge of STAAR’s business, risks and opportunities – produced the best buyer for STAAR.”