On Thursday, STAAR Surgical Company announced that Broadwood Partners, its largest shareholder, has secured two additional board seats as part of a negotiated expansion of the board from seven to nine directors. Broadwood now holds influence over four of the nine board positions, up from two, after agreeing to support the company’s slate of director nominees through the next annual meeting. This shift gives Broadwood a blocking minority on key governance votes and could pave the way for a strategic review of STAAR’s capital allocation and growth initiatives.

Following the board changes, STAAR Surgical’s shares declined by approximately 4% on Thursday trading, reflecting investor concerns over potential shifts in corporate strategy. Management has indicated it will work collaboratively with Broadwood to refine long-term growth plans, including potential partnerships or asset divestitures to accelerate the adoption of STAAR’s implantable collamer lens products in Asia and Europe. The company also reaffirmed its full-year guidance for procedure volume growth of mid-teens percentage and operating margin expansion in excess of 200 basis points.