UPDATE 1-Alcon to buy laser-surgery firm LenSx for $362 mln

* Alcon buys laser-eye surgery technology

* Move comes ahead of Novartis takeover

LOS ANGELES, July 6 (Reuters) - U.S. eyecare group Alcon Inc ACL.N, which Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) will take over this year, plans to buy laser eye-surgery company LenSx Lasers Inc for $361.5 million.

California-based LenSx's technology will help Alcon's focus on helping surgeons improve cataract removal procedures, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

LenSx -- whose backers include Versant Ventures, SV Life Sciences, Interwest Partners and Venture Investors -- was the first company to receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use of its "femtosecond" laser in cataract removal, Alcon said.

That technology improved the precision of manual surgical steps during surgery to remove cataracts, it said.

Alcon may pay up to $382.5 million, depending on the company's performance in hitting revenue milestones and other conditions.

Its shares remained steady at $149.87 in after-hours trading. Novartis expects to close its buy of a majority stake in Alcon in the third or fourth quarters, paving the way for it to take full control of the group.

Novartis had agreed to buy a majority of the company from Nestle (NESN.VX). [ID:nLDE65T2IM] (Reporting by Carolina Madrid; Editing by Bernard Orr)