Company: STAA
Filing Date: 2025-09-29
Form Type: DFAN14A
Source: 0001213900-25-093211
Chunk: 22

Company: STAAR SURGICAL CO
Filing Date: 2025-09-29
Form: DFAN14A
Chunk 22
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believes that by securing deal execution before those results became public, Alcon was effectively able to lock in the transaction at
a price that did not reflect these improved fundamentals and was far below its October 2024 offer. In sum, Alcon swooped in at a low price
when STAAR was well along in fixing the problems that we believe had caused Alcon to back away from its previous offer at a much higher
price. Given time, Broadwood believes that STAAR could have quickly returned to significant revenue growth and substantial profitability,
and then conducted a robust sale process—the likely result of which would have been either a much higher bid from Alcon or success in
pursuing any of a number of other paths that would realize higher shareholder value.

Fourth, an
independent randomized clinical trial — “Measuring Outcomes of LASIK and EVO-ICL in Matched Populations (EVOlve)”
(NCT06700460) — is complete and the results are expected to be published soon. This trial, which compares Alcon’s LASIK
platform to the EVO ICL, may have significant implications for the competitive positioning of the EVO ICL relative to LASIK, and
therefore to the long-term growth prospects of STAAR and its strategic value to potential acquirers within the ophthalmic products
industry. In its press release announcing the merger agreement, Alcon referred to the EVO ICL as a product for moderate and high
myopes, and also referenced in particular the rising number of high myopes around the world. STAAR and its shareholders have long
seen the opportunity for a further market share shift away from LASIK and to the EVO ICL, driven in part by the growing body of
clinical literature that supports the advantages of the EVO ICL for moderate and some low myopes. Therefore, there is a clear
misalignment in vision between Alcon and the owners of STAAR, its shareholders. Broadwood is concerned that the timing of
Alcon’s actions may have been driven partly by the expected publication of this study.

Broadwood’s serious concerns about the fairness and integrity of the sales process, in addition to the insufficient merger consideration, lead us to believe that the acquisition is not in the best interest of STAAR’s shareholders. Accordingly, Broadwood intends to vote against the acquisition and asks the Board to immediately reconsider its recommendation thereof.

The statements above reflect only Broadwood’s
current voting intent and is not a solic