Bausch + Lomb refuse to comment on €13bn buyout talk

Bausch + Lomb have refused to comment on reports that two huge American investment funds are reportedly preparing a €13 billion bid for the company, saying they do not comment on "rumours and speculation".

Investment funds, Blackstone and TPG are reportedly teaming up to finance a bid for the company in the region of $14 billion (€12.8 billion), according to reports in the Financial Times.

The pharmaceutical company employs more than 1,500 people at their contact lens manufacturing plant in the IDA Business Park on the Cork Road. The company recently invested an additional €90 million to expand its capabilities in its Waterford plant and applied for planning permission for further developments in the Déise in July.

Asked if the potential sale of the company would have an impact on the Waterford plant, the company said to the Waterford News & Star: "Our Waterford facility continues to be an integral part of our Vision Care business."

The potential joint bid comes after news that Bausch Health was working with investment bankers Jefferies Financial Group on a debt refinancing deal to allow Bausch + Lomb to be separated from its parent company. This move would make a sale of the Waterford employer more likely to be completed.

Bausch Health was nearly €20 billion in debt following a string of takeovers, the Financial Times revealed in September. The sale of its eyecare subsidiary would clear a significant portion of this debt.

This news comes after Waterford News & Star broke the news that fellow Waterford IDA-based pharmaceutical giant Amgen alerted more than 100 Waterford-based staff that it intends to move its pharmaceutical production from its plant in Waterford to an existing site in south Dublin on a phased basis. Jobs were also cut from Haleon Dungarvan this month.