All M&A articles
-
News briefs
Nexeye acquired for less than €500 million, 3i annual results show
As reported at the end of last month, global investment firm KKR will acquire Nexeye, which runs the Hans Anders, Eyes + More and Direkt Optik retail chains, from 3i, another financial investor that owned the company since 2017. In its financial results for FY2024, ended March 31, 2024, 3i ...
-
News briefs
EssilorLuxottica confirms but downplays interest in Marcolin
Replying to a shareholder’s question during EssilorLuxottica’s general assembly on April 30, 2024, Francesco Milleri, CEO, confirmed that the group was part of the discussions on the take-over of Marcolin. However, he commented that the potential acquisition was not a “strategic part” for EssilorLuxottica, and not only because the group’s ...
-
News briefs
JEH acquires factory in Fukui
Fast-growing eyewear group Japan Eyewear Holdings (JEH) has acquired Taihou, an OEM eyewear supplier based in Sabae City, Fukui prefecture, Japan. The company said that the acquisition was aimed at boosting its production capacity. As previously reported, JEH revenue jumped by 26.3 percent year-on-year in 2023 thanks in large parts ...
-
ArticleNew owner for Nexeye retail group
Global investment firm KKR will become the new majority shareholder of Nexeye, the Dutch-based retail group operating the Hans Anders, Eyes + More and Direkt Optik chains, acquiring it from 3i, another investment fund that owned the company since 2017. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval, but it does ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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, ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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) ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
