Company: STAA
Filing Date: 2025-12-10
Form Type: DFAN14A
Source: 0001213900-25-120140
Chunk: 4

Company: STAAR SURGICAL CO
Filing Date: 2025-12-10
Form: DFAN14A
Chunk 4
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 board of STAAR should
sell the Company, but now is not the right time, and the current Board is not the right board for the job, having lost credibility with
shareholders in our view.

We also reject the assertion by Alcon in its latest
press release dated December 9 that we are “activist shareholders.” We are a long-term shareholder in STAAR, with a 5.1% stake
and a wealth of insight on the Company’s business and long-term prospects, and we are speaking out against Alcon’s attempted
takeover of the Company for less than fair value.

The Go-Shop Period Could Never Remedy the Fundamental Issue: STAAR Should Not Be for Sale Now

Shareholders such as ourselves did not oppose
the proposed merger at $28 per share because we preferred a different buyer or a marginally higher price from Alcon such as $30.75. We
opposed it because STAAR is at a strategic inflection and rebound point. As we have discussed before – and we know other shareholders
heard us – excess distributor inventory that pressured results beginning in 2023 is gradually normalizing. Demand indicators in
China’s refractive market have begun to improve following last year’s slowdown. Recent quarterly results issued by the Company
itself reflect sequential operational momentum and cost discipline progress. The business appears to be turning the corner – precisely
as the Board is attempting to sell it.

We have no reason to believe that this trajectory
has changed in the last 30 days.

Seeking alternative bidders during a compressed
30-day period could not solve the problem that the Company should not be for sale now. If a materially superior offer had emerged, we
would have reconsidered our position. But, as we expected, the structure of this process made such an outcome improbable, and no such
offer emerged.

The Go-Shop Was Structured to Seal the Alcon Deal

The structural issues in the go-shop were evident
from the outset.

A 30-day period is too short to support a meaningful
market check for a company with STAAR’s global distribution footprint, regulatory complexity, and manufacturing profile. Any credible
strategic or financial acquirer would require time to analyze regulatory conditions across multiple jurisdictions, assess pricing dynamics
in key markets, conduct due-diligence on manufacturing, supply chain, and growth forecasts, coordinate consortium or financing partners,
and obtain board or investment-committee approvals.

Moreover, under the merger agreement amendment
enabling the go-shop,