CONTACT LENSES TODAY
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July 29, 2004  

Contact Lenses Today
® is edited by Dr. Joseph T. Barr and the staff of Contact Lens Spectrum. This week CLToday® reaches more than 10,000 readers in 74 countries.


CooperVision Signs Agreement to Acquire OSI
The Cooper Companies, Inc. announced it will purchase Ocular Sciences, Inc. (OSI) for approximately $1.2 billion. At the close of the merger, CooperVision will pay approximately $600 million in cash and issue approximately 10.3 million shares of its common stock to Ocular Sciences shareholders and option holders. When the transaction is completed, Cooper's CooperVision unit will become the world's third largest contact lens company.

Executives at both companies say the acquisition will offer a number of synergies. In North America, OSI's strength in large retail optometric chain customers complements Cooper's concentration on independent optometrists. On a global scale, OSI's disposable spherical lenses, daily wear lenses and silicone hydrogel extended wear technology will augment Cooper's line of specialty lenses.

"The acquisition represents an ideal strategic fit for Cooper," says Cooper CEO A. Thomas Bender, who stated that the acquisition is expected to nearly double Cooper's revenue base and enhance the company's cash flow and profitability.

The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of Cooper's 2005 fiscal year, which begins on November 1, 2004. Cooper executives say they plan to have two-thirds of the integration between the two companies completed by the end of the first year.

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