Is Allergan Going After Valeant's Eye Surgery Assets?

It is no secret that Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE: VRX) needs to divest some of its assets to give the company sufficient liquidity to reduce its debt load before it becomes potentially unmanageable.

The Wall Street Journal reported in early November that the pharmaceutical company has been looking for a buyer to acquire its eye-surgery equipment business, and the price tag attached to a deal could be as much as $2.5 billion.

On Thursday, chatter of a potential deal surfaced that contributed to a brief spike in Valeant's stock, which was trading higher by more than 1 percent at $18.20 — just a few dollars removed from its multi-year lows of below $15 per share.

According to a Bloomberg report, Allergan plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE: AGN) could team up with the private equity firm TPG to buy Valeant's eye-surgery business.

Benzinga reached out to Allergan for commentary. he company responded that as a matter of company policy, it does not comment on market rumors or speculation.