Jana Partners Pushes for Cooper and Bausch + Lomb Merger

Activist investor Jana Partners has built a stake in Cooper Cos. and plans to push for strategic alternatives, including a potential combination of its contact-lens unit with rival Bausch + Lomb. Jana also aims to improve capital allocation and returns. Cooper Cos. makes contact lenses and vision-care products through CooperVision and provides products and services for women's health and fertility through CooperSurgical.

Activist investor Jana Partners has built a stake in Cooper Cos. (NASDAQ: COO) and plans to push for strategic alternatives, including a potential combination of its contact-lens unit with rival Bausch + Lomb. Jana also aims to improve capital allocation and returns. Cooper Cos. operates through CooperVision, a leading producer of soft contact lenses, and CooperSurgical, which provides women’s health and fertility products and services.

Jana Partners reportedly believes that Cooper’s two business divisions lack meaningful synergies and wants the company to pursue moves aimed at unlocking shareholder value. The size of Jana’s stake was not disclosed, but the activist is expected to advocate strongly for a restructuring Cooper Shares Climb as Activist Jana Partners Takes Stake and Pushes for Strategic Shake-Up^[1].

The idea of merging the contact lens segment has already found a receptive audience. Brent Saunders, CEO of Bausch + Lomb, publicly expressed interest in such a combination during an interview. "A potential combination with Cooper would strengthen competition and create a more scaled company in the contact-lens segment," Saunders told The Wall Street Journal Potential CooperVision–Bausch + Lomb merger floated by investor^[2].

Both firms maintain sizable operations in the Greater Rochester region. CooperVision employs 1,629 people across three local sites, ranking as the region’s second-largest manufacturer. Bausch + Lomb, headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario, with U.S. corporate offices in Bridgewater, N.J., employs 1,168 people locally and approximately 13,000 worldwide, with a presence in nearly 100 countries Potential CooperVision–Bausch + Lomb merger floated by investor^[2].

Cooper Cos. stock price saw a rise over 4% in premarket trading Monday following the announcement. While the potential merger is still in the early stages and has not been confirmed, it reflects Jana Partners’ push for strategic changes within the company.