Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) [NYSE:EYE],
a global leader in ophthalmic surgical devices and eye care products,
today issued the following statement in response to the letter sent to
AMO today by the Special Committee of the Board of Directors and the
Board of Directors of Bausch & Lomb (B&L) [NYSE:
BOL].
?We continue to believe in the strategic and
financial rationale for this combination and are confident in our
ability to consummate the transaction. We reaffirm our $75 per share
offer, which we believe fully and fairly values B&L. It is clearly
superior and would deliver more value to B&L shareholders than the
current $65 per share merger agreement with Warburg Pincus. AMO's
proposed transaction would also allow both companies'
shareholders to share in the upside potential of a combination that we
believe will deliver significant cost-saving opportunities. We are
evaluating B&L's letter and will respond
to it in due course.?
About Advanced Medical Optics (AMO)
AMO develops advanced, life-improving vision technologies for people of
all ages. Products in the cataract/implant line include intraocular
lenses (IOLs), phacoemulsification systems, viscoelastics, and related
products used in ocular surgery. AMO owns or has the rights to such
product brands as ReZoom®,
Tecnis®, Clariflex®,
Sensar®, and Verisyse®
IOLs, Sovereign®,
Sovereign® Compact
and WhiteStar Signature?
phacoemulsification systems with WhiteStar®
technology, Healon®
viscoelastics, and the Baerveldt®
glaucoma shunt. Products in the laser vision correction line include
wavefront diagnostic devices, femtosecond lasers and associated patient
interface devices, and excimer laser vision correction systems and
treatment cards. AMO brands in the laser vision correction business
include Star S4 IR®,
WaveScan Wavefront®,
CustomVue®, IntraLase®
FS, IntraLase Method?
and IntraLasik®.
Products in the contact lens care line include disinfecting solutions,
enzymatic cleaners and lens rewetting drops. Among the eye care product
brands the company possesses are COMPLETE®,
COMPLETE®
Blink-N-Clean®,
Consept®F, Consept®
1 Step, Oxysept® 1
Step, UltraCare®,
Ultrazyme®, Total
Care? and blink?
branded products. AMO is based in Santa Ana, California, and employs
approximately 4,200 worldwide. The company has operations in 24
countries and markets products in approximately 60 countries. For more
information, visit the company's Website at www.amo-inc.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release regarding AMO's
bid to acquire B&L, and any other statements that refer to AMO's plans
or estimated future results are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on
management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a
number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this document
include statements about future financial and operating results and the
potential transaction. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance, involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that
are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future
events that may not prove accurate. Therefore, actual outcomes and
results may differ materially from what is expressed herein. For
example, AMO may decide not to pursue the transaction. In addition, if
an agreement is reached with B&L, and the appropriate shareholder and
regulatory approvals are not received, or either of the companies fails
to satisfy other conditions to closing, the transaction will not be
consummated. In any forward-looking statement in which AMO expresses an
expectation or belief as to future results, such expectation or belief
is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but
there can be no assurance that the statement or expectation or belief
will result or be achieved or accomplished. The following factors, among
others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those
described in the forward-looking statements: risks associated with
whether the transaction will be completed and financed on acceptable
terms, successfully integrating AMO and B&L, the failure to realize the
synergies and other perceived advantages resulting from the transaction,
costs and potential litigation associated with the transaction, the
failure to obtain the necessary approvals of shareholders, the inability
to obtain, or meet conditions imposed for, applicable regulatory
requirements relating to the transaction, the failure of either party to
meet the closing conditions set forth in the definitive agreement, the
ability to retain key personnel both before and after the transaction,
each company's ability to successfully execute its business strategies,
unforeseen impacts of the recalls of eye care solutions, the extent and
timing of regulatory approvals, and the extent and timing of market
acceptance of new products or product indications, manufacturing,
litigation, the procurement, maintenance, enforcement and defense of
patents and proprietary rights, competitive conditions in the industry,
business cycles affecting the markets in which any products may be sold,
fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and interest rates, and economic
conditions generally or in various geographic areas, including those set
forth in AMO's Annual Report on Form 10-K and
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, especially in the ?Risk
Factors? sections and other SEC filings. AMO
is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation
to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result
of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Advanced Medical Optics, Inc.
Investors:
Sheree Aronson,
714-247-8290
sheree.aronson@amo-inc.com
or
Mark
Levin, 714-247-8465
mark.levin@amo-inc.com
or
Media:
Steve
Chesterman, 714-247-8711
steve.chesterman@amo-inc.com
or
Sard
Verbinnen & Co
Jim Barron, 212-687-8080
Andrew Cole,
415-618-8750
bourse
