Staar Surgical’s top investor calls shareholder meeting to remove directors

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(Reuters) -Medtech firm Staar Surgical’s biggest investor, Broadwood Partners, is planning to call a shareholder meeting to remove several directors, it said on Wednesday, amid tensions over a proposed takeover by Swiss eyecare firm Alcon.

Investment firm Broadwood has 27.5% stake and has actively opposed Alcon’s acquisition, saying the offer did not reflect Staar’s recent financial improvements and that the board has failed to fully assess alternative options.

“It is clear to us that the board no longer has the confidence of shareholders, and that new directors are needed to properly steward the Company and restore shareholder trust,” Neal Bradsher, Broadwood founder and president, said.

The investors are scheduled to vote on the proposed deal on Thursday. Staar declined to comment on Broadwood’s announcement.

At least two other investors, Yunqi Capital and Defender Capital, which together own 6.5% stake, have also objected to the proposal, bringing the opposition to nearly 34% of outstanding shares.

Earlier this month, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended Staar investors to reject the offer, citing the biggest shareholder’s opposition and “various deficiencies, disconnects, and uncertainties” tied to the deal.

Alcon said in early August that the boards of both companies had approved its offer of $28 per Staar share, valuing the business at $1.5 billion.

Staar, which produces and markets implantable lenses for the eye, has struggled with declining revenue and a collapse of sales in China.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)