Johnson & Johnson has announced an agreement to acquire Abbott Medical Optics (AMO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories, for $4.33 billion in cash.

The acquisition will include ophthalmic products for cataract surgery, laser refractive surgery and consumer eye health.

"Eye health is one of the largest, fastest-growing and most underserved segments in health care today," said Ashley McEvoy, company group chairman. "With the acquisition of Abbott Medical Optics' strong and differentiated surgical ophthalmic portfolio, coupled with our world-leading Acuvue contact lens business, we will become a more broad-based leader in vision care. Importantly, with this acquisition we will enter cataract surgery – one of the most commonly performed surgeries and the number one cause of preventable blindness."

AMO is a global leader in ophthalmic surgery and is known for world-class intraocular lenses used in cataract surgery. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 20 million people are blind from age-related cataracts and that there are at least 100 million eyes with compromised visual acuity caused by cataracts. These numbers are steadily rising due to population growth and increasing life expectancy.

In addition to the cataract business, AMO has advanced laser vision technologies designed to enhance surgeon productivity and correct near sightedness, far sightedness and astigmatism. The acquisition also includes AMO's consumer eye health products

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

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