B&L to be purchased.

[Aarlan]

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/16/news...ion=2007051610

AA

[For-Life]

No surprise here. Mismanagement has driven this once gem of a company into the sewer it now lies. I expect a clean sweep through it to get it back on its feet. I am actually surprised J&J, Cooper, Novartis, or Essilor did not try to take over.

[drk]

Very interesting post, Aarlan!

B&L could be a sleeping giant...

1.) Brand name is "way strong" inside and outside the industry
2.) Marketing department has its act in gear, for the first time in a long while...product packaging is consistent across all their opti-ceuticals: contact lenses, solutions, drugs, nutritional supplements, etc.
3.) Some of their products are quite good and useful
4.) There are only two "major" competitors to worry about: Alcon and Vistakon


But, here's where they flat out suck:
1.) Their sales force is pathetic, IMO
2.) Their marketing focus to professionals has been "profit" oriented: yuck
3.) Their CL solutions/reputation have been disparaged greatly
4.) For that matter, so has their premiere CL platform (soon to improve?). Very mediocre.


What this new holding company must do is:
1.) Clean out the management
2.) Change the corporate philosophy into a true health care company
3.) Totally re-invent their relationship with their customers (eye care practitioners)
4.) Cut out the dead weight in the product lines and "focus"! (Like almost every other company.)

[Chris Ryser]

The deal includes the right for Bausch & Lomb to solicit superior offers during the next 50 days. If a better deal is reached during that time, it will pay a $40 million break-up fee to Warburg Pincus.

Who else has started to buy up contact lens companies and is said to aquire another major contact lens company within the next 2 years and has just bought the largest CL distributor in the USA ?

This could just about make Essilor drool in their drive for world dominance of the optical business...............and you could not rule out Zeiss that is in a similar league.

The next 50 days will tell who makes the boldest move in this latest game for optical power.

What this new holding company must do is:
1.) Clean out the management
2.) Change the corporate philosophy into a true health care company
3.) Totally re-invent their relationship with their customers (eye care practitioners)
4.) Cut out the dead weight in the product lines and "focus"!

drk, Don't worry........................if one of the two corporation mentioned above, they will streamline the old dinosaur into a modern up to date B&L that can become a flagship of their ever growing fleet.