Alcon, LENSAR Halt Merger Deal Amid FTC Scrutiny

Alcon and LENSAR announced that they have entered an agreement to terminate the companies’ previously announced merger agreement.

According to LENSAR, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) intended to enjoin the acquisition contemplated by the merger agreement. The two companies agreed that stopping the deal agreement is in their best interest because the required closing condition of receiving necessary U.S. regulatory approvals was unlikely to be met by the merger agreement’s outside date of April 23, 2026 or the potential extended outside date of July 23, 2026.

LENSAR will retain the $10 million deposit contemplated by the merger agreement. The company specializes in advanced laser robotic laser solutions to treat cataracts.

“While we are disappointed with this outcome and the FTC’s intention to challenge the proposed transaction, we remain committed to advancing the field of cataract surgery through the continued market growth of our ALLY Robotic Cataract Laser System. Since its commercial introduction in 2022, we believe it has become clearer every day that ALLY is the future of refractive cataract surgery. With ALLY, we were able to significantly extend our technology leadership position, established on the strength of our previous-generation LLS platform. We have expanded our footprint and LENSAR’s influence in the space, which supported market share gains and significant procedure growth. Our team is committed to realizing the full potential of our innovation and capturing the significant untapped opportunity that exists in the market we serve,” said Nick Curtis, president and CEO of LENSAR. “We are focused on continuing to drive the expansion of ALLY’s global installed base and procedure volumes, and creating long-term value for patients, our surgeon partners and shareholders. We will share more detail on our strategy when we release our financial results on March 31, 2026.”

“Alcon continues to believe that the acquisition of LENSAR would have significantly enhanced FLACS innovation and competition to the benefit of surgeons and patients,” said David Endicott, CEO of Alcon. “However, the delay and associated costs of this extended regulatory review, which began nearly a year ago, has rendered the transaction unattractive to pursue further in light of the Federal Trade Commission’s opposition. Alcon remains committed to advancing cataract surgery by delivering technologies that improve efficiency for surgeons and outcomes for patients.”

Earlier this year, Alcon and STAAR Surgical Company terminated their agreement due to STAAR not receiving the necessary stockholder votes to approve the merger agreement.