All M&A articles
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News briefs
EssilorLuxottica closes Washin’s acquisition
EssilorLuxottica has officially confirmed that it closed the acquisition of Japanese retail chain Washin, on which we reported in February already, following the approval of Japanese competition authorities. The Italo-French group said that this acquisition paved the way for further investments in Japan and would provide greater insights on the ...
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News briefsCarl Zeiss Meditec acquires DORC
Regulators having cleared the way, Carl Zeiss Meditec has finished acquiring the Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center (DORC). Negotiations began in December of last year. The seller is Eurazeo, an investment firm headquartered in Paris. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed, but Eurazeo reports the following: “The transaction has generated ...
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ArticleTwo top-ten German optical retailers join forces to take over Edel-Optics
Optiker Bode and ROTTLER, two family-owned and historical optical retail chains respectively based in Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, are joining forces to take over Edel-Optics, an online optical retail pionneer in both Germany and Europe. Founded in 2009, the company had filed for insolvency proceedings in February. Edel-Optics has ...
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ArticleiVision Tech enter lens business as 2023 parent company sales rise 19%
The Italian eyewear group iVision Tech announced it was entering the lens sector with the acquisition of a 60 percent stake in Bulgarian lens producer IVILENS OOD for €280,000, as it continues on the acquisition path following the purchase of the French high-end eyewear manufacturer Henry Jullien in September. Stefano ...
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News briefs
CECOP expands German footprint
CECOP, the Spanish-based buying group, is expanding its presence in Germany with the acquisition of Macoma, a German buying group boasting over 200 members and headquartered in Bavaria. It is the third acquisition of a German buying group by CECOP in recent years following investments in Optic Society (2022) and ...
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ArticleNew owner for Horizons Optical
Oakley Capital, a London-based private equity investor focusing on mid-sized companies, has announced its acquisition of a majority share in Horizons Optical, the Spanish-based supplier of software and equipment for the production of customized ophthalmic lenses. Horizons Optical, which was originally the R&D division Indo Optical was spun off from ...
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News briefs
Marcolin negotiations with strategic investors reportedly hit a €1.3 billion snag
According to an article published last Saturday by the Financial Times (FT), EssilorLuxottica, Kering, Safilo and Marchon have all expressed interest in the acquisition of Marcolin, as PAI Partners is looking to sell its majority stake in the company. While EssilorLuxottica and Kering seem to be the most likely candidates ...
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ArticleHans Anders and Eyes + More owner up for sale
According to various reports in the Dutch financial press, which we could confirm with people close to the matter, the optical retail group behind the Hans Anders, Eyes + More and Direkt Optik banners has been put up for sale by 3i, its major shareholder since 2017. In its last ...
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News briefs
OBE acquires Italian components manufacturer
OBE Group, the German-based specialist in hinges, has announced the acquisition of OMM, a supplier of made-in-Italy metal components to high-end eyewear manufacturers. Founded in 1978 and located in the Cadore eyewear cluster in Italy, OMM currently employs 40 people. The acquisition enables OBE to add another production facility to ...
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica acquires Japanese retail chain
EssilorLuxottica is about to deploy its full-scale vertical-integration business model in Japan. We have learned that the Italo-French group has acquired the business of Washin Optical, a Japanese mid-size optical retailer founded in 1951, through its Luxottica Japan subsidiary. The information has not been officially announced by the group yet, ...
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ArticleOpal Demetz acquires Roussilhe
In an agreement aimed at ensuring the longevity of both businesses and at developing French manufacturing, Opal Demetz, an eyewear SME based in Lyon has announced the acquisition of Roussilhe, a smaller French eyewear company with a large portfolio of in-house brands produced at its Oyonnax factory. “Together, we ...
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News briefs
Private equity fund takes over Megane Super owner
Japanese investment fund Nippon Investment Companies has acquired the business of Visionary Holdings, after a successful tender offer at the Tokyo Stock Exchange last month. Visionary Holdings is mostly known for its Megane Super chain of optical stores that boasts over 300 doors in Japan. The company also operates two ...
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ArticleEssilorLuxottica integrates Bliz to sports portfolio
EssilorLuxottica has announced the integration of BLIZ, a brand of sport eyewear, snow goggles and helmets, in its sport portfolio which already includes Oakley and Costa. The brand was previously owned by Future Eyewear, a Swedish-based eyewear company selling and distributing other brands like Dr. Zipe (sport eyewear), Prestige (sunglasses) ...
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News briefs
DAC Technologies acquires 3M’s LEAP III
3M has announced the sale of its LEAP III brand of blocking pads to DAC Technologies, the supplier of equipment and consumables to ophthalmic labs for the surfacing, coating, tinting and finishing of lenses. The transaction is part of a larger exclusive agreement between the companies, through which 3M will ...
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ArticleThélios acquires Barton Perreira
Thélios, the eyewear entity of LVMH, has announced the signature of an agreement to acquire Barton Perreira, the U.S.-based luxury eyewear brand. The acquisition follows only a few weeks after that of Vuarnet, the French high-end sports eyewear brand, underlining the expansion of Thélios’ business into proprietary brands and designer ...
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ArticleIs Marcolin going to change hands?
According to insider information leaked to Bloomberg, PAI Partners, the majority shareholder of Marcolin Group, is looking to sell its stake in the company and has appointed Goldman Sachs to gauge the market’s interest in a deal that would value the eyewear manufacturer at approximately €1.35 billion. The French-based ...
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News briefs
Lenskart completes acquisition of AI-powered analytics tech company
Indian-based retail group Lenskart has fully acquired the business of Tango Eye, a tech company in which it had started to invest in 2020, according to several Indian business news websites. Tango Eye has developed an AI-powered technology that analyzises in-store customer trafic and behavior, including interactions with the shop’s ...
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ArticleFittingbox acquires main VTO challenger
Fittingbox, the global leader and a pioneer in eyewear virtual-try-on (VTO) services, has announced that it was acquiring its main challenger, Ditto Technologies, from U.S.-based Luna Solutions. It is the first acquisition by Fittingbox since the creation of the company in 2006. “We will have the largest customer portfolio in ...
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ArticleItalian OEM group acquires Henry Jullien
iVisionTech, the Italian-based OEM eyewear supplier, has announced that it was acquiring French eyewear company Henry Jullien, after a competitive sale process managed by a French Commercial Court. The process followed the entry into liquidation proceedings of the L’Amy Luxe group, of which Henry Jullien was part since 2017. ...
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ArticleVeneVision adds injection to portfolio with new acquisition
Fast-growing Italian eyewear OEM group VeneVision is adding another production process to its know-how portfolio with the acquisition of CIDI, a Treviso-based company specializing in the production of injected-polymer frames. “With this acquisition,” commented Nicola Belli, CEO of VeneVision, “a fundamental piece of the Group’s strategy is realized: we are ...
