By Kelly Cloonan
Cooper Cos. said it is eyeing opportunities to simplify its business and also named a new board chair.
The medical device company said Thursday it is undergoing a strategic review that will consider opportunities like partnerships, joint ventures, divestitures and mergers in an effort to boost performance in its core markets and expand market share.
During its strategic review period, the company expects to focus its capital deployment on its $2 billion share repurchase program.
The move comes after activist investor Jana Partners built a stake in the company with plans to push for strategic alternatives, including a potential deal to combine its contact-lens unit with rival Bausch + Lomb, The Wall Street Journal reported in October, citing people familiar with the matter.
Jana said the company's formal review of strategic alternatives is a step towards boosting its value. "We applaud the board for initiating it," Scott Ostfeld, Managing Partner at Jana, said.
Cooper also appointed Colleen Jay as its next board chair, effective Jan. 2.
Jay will succeed Robert Weiss, who will remain on the board and stand for reelection for the upcoming year, the company said.
Jay has been on the company's board since 2016. She previously worked at Procter & Gamble as global division president.
Separately on Thursday, the company logged lower profit and higher sales in its latest quarter.
The company posted a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $84.6 million, or 43 cents a share, compared with $117.5 million, or 58 cents a share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings per share were $1.15, ahead of estimates of $1.11 a share according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue rose 5% to $1.07 billion. Analysts expected $1.06 billion.
Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 05, 2025 09:26 ET (14:26 GMT)
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