Company: STAA
Filing Date: 2025-09-24
Form Type: DFAN14A
Source: 0001213900-25-091197
Chunk: 34

Company: STAAR SURGICAL CO
Filing Date: 2025-09-24
Form: DFAN14A
Chunk 34
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 valuation is reinforced by
credible standalone scenarios. Aligning current STAAR costs with peer medtech benchmarks:

| ● | COGS: ~29% (STAAR is already below this) |

| ● | R&D: ~9.5% |

| ● | SG&A: ~34% |

This would lift operating margins to approximately
27.5%, in line with ophthalmic medtech peers, who routinely deliver 27–30% margins. Depending on the pace of revenue recovery, earnings
might reach:

| ● | $0.79 per share in 2025, or |

| ● | $1.46 per share if 2024 sales levels return |

STAAR’s own projections, shared with Alcon during merger discussions,
anticipate growth from $260M in 2025 to nearly $500M by 2030. At this growth level, valuation multiples of 25x–40x would apply,
implying values between $28 and $44 per share—before any strategic premium.

Alcon’s own M&A record suggests that premiums of 50–70%
could reasonably be applied, lifting the valuation range into the $50+ zone—possibly as high as $60 in a competitive process.

Competitive Landscape and Strategic Interest

Competition for STAAR is not hypothetical. Industry data shows that
refractive surgery growth is shifting from LASIK to SMILE and phakic IOLs, with global LASIK volumes softening over the past two years.

Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, and Johnson & Johnson Vision are seeing flat
or declining sales in traditional laser platforms, as Zeiss dominates with SMILE. For these players, acquiring or partnering in the phakic
IOL segment offers a way to:

| ● | Defend market share |

| ● | Diversify beyond slowing equipment sales |

| ● | Capture higher-margin implant revenue |

As a result, other strategics—as well as sophisticated private
equity investors—have shown interest in STAAR. This raises serious concerns about whether the market has been fully tested on shareholders’
behalf.

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Long-Term Value vs. Short-Term Execution

Short-term operational issues have not been separated
from the long-term asset value of STAAR. The undervalued stock price on which the accepted bid is based is the result of self-inflicted
operational challenges. These should not be allowed to overshadow the extremely positive structural growth drivers,