Second-quarter merger predicted for AMO, VISX

Santa Ana, CA-The merger of Advanced Medical Optics Inc. (AMO) and VISX Inc. is taking a little longer to complete than anticipated, as auditors work to finish the companies' year-end financial statements.

The companies expect to finalize the merger during the second quarter of this year, despite earlier predictions that it would happen during the first quarter. The companies attributed the delay to securities laws that now require financial statements to be included in their joint proxy statement/prospectus, which is mailed to stockholders prior to their respective stockholder meetings.

Meanwhile, AMO is taking a page from the VISX book and bolstering its customer service by hiring in-house field service engineers.

At the time of the merger, AMO said it would like to incorporate VISX's emphasis on customer service.