Shares of the Vaughan, Ont.-based contact-lens supplier closed up almost 14 per cent Monday after the Financial Times reported it’s looking for buyers in an effort to separate from Bausch Health, its heavily indebted parent. (The Logic, Financial Times)

Talking point: Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mike Holland estimated Bausch + Lomb could be worth more than US$13 billion. Holland said a sale would be welcome to investors looking for a way out of the “Gordian’s knot” at Bausch Health, which has more than US$21 billion in debt. Bausch + Lomb went public as a spinout from Bausch Health in 2022, but the parent still owns the vast majority of its shares. Chris Clark, a Bausch + Lomb spokesperson, said in an email that “we don’t comment on rumours or speculation,” while Bausch Health did not respond to The Logic’s request for comment.  Bausch Health emerged from Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which enjoyed a meteoric rise powered by debt-fuelled acquisitions to briefly become Canada’s most valuable company in 2015. A report by short seller Andrew Left sparked a selloff that caused the stock to lose 90 per cent of its value over five months.