LasikPlus Founder Buys Ownership Stake, Seeks Change

Dr. Stephen N. Joffe, a Cincinnati investor and laser vision correction industry pioneer, today filed a Schedule 13D with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing ownership of a 5 percent-voting position in TLC Vision, which operates approximately 80 refractive centers in the United States and Canada.

Joffe is the founder and past CEO of LCA-Vision, parent company of LasikPlus,TLC Vision's largest competitor. He has no current relationship with LCA-Vision.

In the filing, Joffe said he is considering actions to protect his investment, including seeking representation on the board to implement strategic and business model changes designed to turn around the company's flagging performance. Furthermore, he has requested the New Brunswick, Canada-registered company's shareholder list.

Joffe's actions were prompted by recent decisions by the TLC Vision board that have led to a 60-percent decline in TLC Vision's share price in the past year.

In a letter to the TLC Vision board filed with Joffe's Schedule 13D, Joffe said, "On top of the list of ill-conceived judgments is the board's decision to buy off many of its critics with a disastrous Dutch auction that offered unhappy holders roughly three times the price the shares trade at today. To accomplish this, management and the board burdened the corporation with an enormous mountain of debt and interest costs that could sharply suppress, if not eliminate, profitability for many years to come."