Company: STAA
Filing Date: 2025-09-26
Form Type: DFAN14A
Source: 0001213900-25-092390
Chunk: 4

Company: STAAR SURGICAL CO
Filing Date: 2025-09-26
Form: DFAN14A
Chunk 4
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 problem: it’s execution,
not the market. Their own forecasts provided to Alcon during due diligence, and now [publicly] disclosed, show sales doubling by 2030.
The market is growing, and these forecasts show STAAR believed they could benefit significantly from those positive trends”.

Proxy precedents

One of the critical levers in any public M&A transaction
is proxy-advisory firms — most prominently ISS and Glass Lewis. Their recommendations often guide how large institutional investors
cast votes.

Proxy advisors’ recommendations for deals in the medical-device
space offer some guides.

In the SomaLogic/Standard BioTools merger, both ISS and Glass
Lewis issued ‘FOR’ recommendations, pointing to that deal’s strategic rationale, thorough process and executed value
creation.

<div align='center'>3</div>

In iCAD’s acquisition by RadNet, both
ISS and Glass Lewis again supported a FOR vote, citing board diligence, implied premium and upside potential.

More recently, Nordion’s announced
deal to be acquired by Sterigenics won backing from ISS and Glass Lewis on grounds of a “rigorous strategic review and competitive
sale process”.

These precedents underscore consistent
themes in favorable recommendations:

—
Strategic clarity: the deal must offer a compelling narrative, not just a premium number.

—
Process integrity: a documented, arms-length review or competitive process matters heavily.

—
Value justification: valuation must be defended, not just asserted.

Board pushback

STAAR’s board has
responded. In an emailed statement, it said it undertook an “extensive, thoughtful evaluation” of strategic alternatives,
considering both standalone performance and industry dynamics.

The board said STAAR faces risks on its own: heavy China
exposure, mounting competition, a narrow product line, tariff vulnerability and challenges in selling beyond high-myopia patients. STAAR
also highlighted that no other credible offers surfaced during its “window shop” period, reinforcing management’s view
that Alcon’s bid is the best available option.

On that point, Bailey commented that once a bid by a strategic
who also has matching rights is accepted, lots of private-equity bidders rule out participating as they know they cannot compete against
a strategic counterparty. “This despite a solid investment case to justify a bid higher than $28 by a financial group. For strategics,
the way this window was structured makes it very difficult to mobilize around in the time available.”

At $28 per share in cash, STAAR said in