All M&A articles
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ArticleSafilo comments FY 2025 solid performance, M&A targets
Confirming preliminary results released at the end of January, Safilo Group announced yesterday that its Q4 revenue declined by 4.6 percent to €225 million. At constant exchange rates, the topline inched up by 0.4 percent, with both North America and Europe growing at a low single-digit margin rate (see table). ...
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ArticleBidco is set to acquire INSPECS but may have to compose with Safilo
Bidco, the consortium led by British entrepreneurs Luke Johnson and Ian Livingstone, is changing tactics for its planned acquisition of INSPECS Group, which appears to be contested by Safilo Group. On Friday last week, INSPECS officially said that Bidco was switching from the court-sanctioned scheme announced in December last year ...
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Ace & Tate takes over small Spanish DTC brand
Ace & Tate, the Dutch-based eyewear company, is acquiring Project Lobster, a Spanish direct-to-consumer omnichannel eyewear brand that filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2025. Ace & Tate will take over five of the seven Project Lobster stores located in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, and keep operating them under ...
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ArticleBidco builds up stake in INSPECS amid stalled takeover process
The acquisition process of INSPECS Group by Bidco 1125, a new company created by British entrepreneurs Luke Johnson and Ian Livingstone, seems to have stalled as the eyewear company announced last Friday that the proxy shareholders’ votes received so far, if unchanged, would not enable the acquisition. Therefore, INSPECS is ...
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Fielmann acquires a small retail chain in Luxemburg
Fielmann Group has reportedly acquired Opti-Vue, an optical retail chain with 11 stores and approximately 80 employees in Luxemburg. According to Paperjam, a local news outlet that reported the news, Opti-Vue will continue to operate independently. The retailer is positioned on the premium segment of the eyewear market with mostly ...
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ArticleThe European eyecare sector remains an attractive M&A market
There were 28 company transactions – including full takeovers and acquisitions of minority stakes – in the eyecare and eyewear sector in Europe in 2025, according to a recent report by Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank monitoring the sector and other consumer markets. The company was involved last year ...
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VSP Vision completes Marcolin’s acquisition
VSP Vision announced on Dec. 23, 2025 that it has completed the acquisition of Italian eyewear group Marcolin from PAI Partners, which held a 78 percent stake in the company since 2012, and other minority shareholders. The combination of Marchon Eyewear, the eyewear unit of VSP Vision, and Marcolin gives ...
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STAAR shareholders reject Alcon merger agreement
The shareholders of STAAR Surgical, a California-based refractive surgery company that specializes in Implantable Collamer Lenses (ICLs), voted against the proposed merger agreement with Alcon yesterday. The agreement, which was contested from the start by Broadwood Partners and other key investors in the company, was recently upgraded in price to ...
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ArticleSeeing a 'strategic opportunity,' Safilo builds up a 25% stake in Inspecs
On Dec. 15, 2025, Safilo officially announced that it did not intend to make a firm offer for the acquisition of Inspecs. The announcement followed Inspecs’ statement on Dec. 10, 2025, that the board had found an agreement with Bidco for an 84 pence (€0.96) per share deal that values ...
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ArticleVision Group acquires LMC/Sensee
Group Héron, the French retail group, is selling the entirety of LMC/Sensee to Vision Group, a Swiss specialist in contact lenses. The financial terms of the sale have not been disclosed. The executive staff at LMC/Sensee is “fully involved in the decision” and will be remaining in place to manage ...
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EssilorLuxottica acquires another ophthalmology clinics group
EssilorLuxottica is set to acquire Signifeye, a prominent Belgian ophthalmology platform, the group has announced. This acquisition adds to the group’s growing presence in ophthalmology clinics, with Signifeye operating 15 eye centers in the Flanders region. The move follows the recent acquisition of Optegra, which manages over 70 clinics across ...
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Alcon upgraded bid for STAAR Surgical still contested
Alcon has upped its offer to acquire STAAR Surgical, a California-based refractive surgery company that specializes in Implantable Collamer Lenses (ICLs), the company announced on Dec. 9, 2025. The newly agreed price of $30.75 per share, up from $28 in the initial agreement, values the target company at approximately $1.6 ...
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ArticleInspecs board accepts £85m takeover by two British entrepreneurs
Inspecs Group’s board has agreed to an £85 million acquisition by two British entrepreneurs Luke Johnson and Ian Livingstone, formerly majority owner and chairman of Optika Clulow, after rejecting offers from Safilo Group.
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ArticleInspecs takeover talks extended with current highest bid at £85m
Private equity seems to have an edge in the negotiations but Safilo is reviewing its options. The UK-based eyewear group has also announced a trading update that forecasts a 4 percent decline in annual revenue.
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ArticleParis Miki main stakeholder to delist the company through an MBO
The tender offer by the founding family fund values the company at approximately 33 billion yen (€182m). The plan is to restructure the retailer’s domestic and overseas businesses after a decade of revenue stagnation and low or negative profit margins.
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ArticleAlcon Q3 CL sales grow 6%, sees STAAR deal as attractive but not essential
Alcon generated $707 million in contact lens sales in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up by 6 percent compared to the year earlier, as growth was driven by product innovation and price increases, partially offset by declines in legacy products. At constant-currency rates, sales were up by 5 percent. ...
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Alcon and STAAR Surgical amend merger agreement
STAAR Surgical has announced the amendment of its agreement for its acquisition by Alcon, which has been criticized by Broadwood Partners and other shareholders in the California-based refractive surgery company since the initial announcement in August. Among other things, the new agreement allows STAAR Surgical to solicit other third-party bids ...
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ArticleInvestor pressures Inspecs for sum-of-the-parts deal
First Seagull, a Norwegian investor holding a 5.5 percent stake in Inspecs Group, is pressing the UK-based eyewear group to prioritize a sum-of-the-parts divestment of its business in a letter sent to the company’s board on Oct. 24. The move follows the announcement by Inspecs last week that it had ...
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ArticlePrivate equity firms look at Inspecs takeover, Safilo too but only for some assets
Inspecs Group confirmed yesterday press reports about two separate unsolicited proposals from private equity firms, “each setting out non-binding possible cash offers alongside the possibility of an alternative offer including unlisted securities to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Inspecs.” Inspecs stock price takes off ...
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Topcon acquires Toku
Topcon Healthcare is adding one more brick to its Healthcare from the Eye program with the acquisition of Toku, a San Diego-based AI health-tech company that originated in New Zealand. Topcon, along with US retail group National Vision, already led an $8 million Series A investment round in Toku in ...
