France’s Essilor International SA, a maker of corrective lenses for glasses, said Thursday it’s interested in contact lenses but didn’t name speculated takeover target Cooper Cos. of Lake Forest.
The message still drove speculation about Cooper being bought. Earlier this month, a French brokerage and magazine said Essilor could buy struggling Cooper for $2.7 billion.
Cooper earlier canceled a presentation at JP Morgan’s healthcare conference, leading to more speculation a deal could be in the works.
Essilor’s been on an acquisition tear, making nearly 40 deals in 2005 and through the first nine months of 2006.
