All M&A articles – Page 9
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ArticleFielmann buys Óptica & AudiologÍa Universitaria in Spain
In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, Fielmann, the German-based optical retailer, keeps expanding, as mapped out in its Vision 2025 strategic plan, with the acquisition of Óptica & AudiologÍa Universitaria, one of the leading retail groups in Spain. The transaction will complete on Dec. 31. The details of the deal ...
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News briefsEssilorLuxottica reportedly reconsidering GrandVision deal
EssilorLuxottica is reconsidering the agreed acquisition for €7.2 billion of the optical retailer GrandVision, according to the news agency Bloomberg, which cited people with knowledge of the matter. Essilux still sees the rationale of the deal but is increasingly worried about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on GrandVision’s business, ...
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News briefsSafilo’s acquisitions are offsetting license losses
Safilo expects Blenders Eyewear and Privé Revaux, the two American companies it bought this year, to offset the loss of the Dior and Fendi licenses. The Dior license expires at the end of 2020 and Fendi at the end of June 2021. In an interview with the daily Corriere della ...
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News briefs
Mister Spex buys technology firm to develop AI
Mister Spex has bought the Berlin-based technology firm Tribe in order to develop artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the ophthalmic sector. The companies did not release any financial information regarding the deal. Tribe was founded in 2018 and developed a virtual fitting solution installed on Mister Spex’s Instagram account at ...
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ArticleTechVision looks to expand one-stop components shop
TechVision, an Italian holding company owning companies producing metal components and providing surface finishing services for eyewear, aims to roughly triple its size in the next three to four years, as the eyewear sector recovers from the hit it has taken from the Covid-19 pandemic and management keeps an eye ...
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News briefsH2 Equity Partners is acquiring Optegra
H2 Equity has reached an agreement to buy the ophthalmology group Optegra from Eight Roads Ventures. The deal is expected to be completed early 2021. Optegra runs 23 eye hospitals and clinics in the U.K., Poland and the Czech Republic and offers a wide-range of services including laser eye and ...
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ArticleInspecs buys Eschenbach for €95 million
Inspecs is buying the German company Eschenbach Holding for €94.85 million (£84.7m), a move that will enable the British eyewear company to obtain greater scale and provide it with the opportunity to acquire bigger global licenses. Inspecs will also be able to utilize its manufacturing expertise in Asia to assist ...
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ArticleItaly’s main buying groups merge
Italy’s two main buying groups, Vision Group and Netcity, will merge on Jan. 1, but will maintain their offices and staff based in Milan and Prato, near Florence. Vision Group has more than 2,100 associated optical stores, operating under different banners including VisionOttica’s, the group’s nationwide label with more than ...
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News briefsHilco Vision buys German reader firm I Need You
The American company Hilco Vision has acquired I Need You (INY), a Hamburg-based provider of premium reader glasses. The acquisition became effective on Oct. 30. INY was founded by the Gellermann family in 1993. INY founder, Uwe Gellermann, and the company’s joint managing director, Neele Schierholz, will continue to be ...
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ArticleL’Amy saved by ILG, MadaLuxe
L’Amy, the French eyewear maker, which can boast over 200 years of history, has been saved by its existing shareholder, International Luxury Group (ILG), and an American partner, MadaLuxe. The two buyers took over, with similar stakes, the company, which has been renamed Groupe L’Amy Luxe, and its unit Henry ...
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ArticleFarfetch, Alibaba, Richemont, Pinault family form a formidable alliance in digital sales
Farfetch, Alibaba, Richemont and the Pinault family, which owns the French luxury goods company Kering, have entered a global partnership with the declared intent of providing luxury brands with “enhanced access” to the Chinese market as well as accelerating the digitization of the global luxury industry. Under the agreement, Farfetch ...
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ArticleChange of ownership at Mondottica International
The Hong Kong-based Mondottica International has changed ownership and is now controlled by a consortium comprising Capital Eyes Holding, Ross Holdings and Ferdinand Menrad. No financial details were released, but the tran partnersaction includes a substantial capital injection. Capital Eyes Holding is an Asia-based investment company involved in eyewear manufacturing, ...
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ArticleVam Investments buys 80% of Demenego
The Milan-based private equity Vam Investments has bought an 80 percent stake in Demenego, an Italian eyewear producer which also manages 16 points of sale. The De Menego family will retain a 20 percent interest in the company, which posted sales of €23 million in 2019 and an Ebitda of ...
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News briefs
Rationale of Essilux, GrandVision tie-up remains unchanged
The strategic logic behind EssilorLuxottica’s proposed acquisition of GrandVision has not changed despite the litigation between the two companies, Leonardo Del Vecchio, Essilux executive chairman, told the Italian daily Il Messaggero. Del Vecchio is the founder of Luxottica and is the main shareholder of Essilux through his family holding company ...
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News briefsWalmart sells Asda to a group of investors
The American retailer Walmart has agreed to sell a majority stake in Asda, its British chain of supermarkets, to a group of investors comprising the brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and TDR Capital. The deal values Asda £6.8 billion (€7.5bn-$8.8bn). Walmart will keep a minority stake in Asda. The deal ...
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News briefs
Safilo completes sale of Martignacco site
Safilo has completed the sale of a factory in Martignacco, situated in the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, to iVision Tech, a unit of iVision Group, an Italian concern with activities spreading from software to face masks. No financial details were released. The facility will be reconverted to manufacture ...
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ArticleKKR buys 1-800 Contacts
The investment firm KKR has agreed to buy 1-800 Contacts, the American online retailer of contact lenses, from AEA Investors, which acquired the company in January 2016. No financial details were disclosed but the news agency Reuters cited an unnamed source indicating that the deal was worth more than $3 ...
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ArticleU.S. delays TikTok ban to Sept. 27 as Trump gives blessing to deal with Oracle, Walmart
The U.S. Department of Commerce said that it has delayed until Sept. 27 the prohibition of the Chinese mobile application TikTok. The department had previously announced that the ban would start today. The decision comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had given his “blessing” to a proposed deal ...
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News briefs
Club OpticLibre expands in Belgium
Club OpticLibre, the French voluntary group of opticians, has reached an agreement to take over its Belgian peer Obos. The French company represents some 1,500 stores, 100 of which are in Belgium. With the tie-up, the network will exceed 1,700 locations and the firm aims to have sales of more ...
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News briefs
MetLife buys Davis Vision, Superior Vision
The US financial services firm MetLife has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Versant Health from an investor group led by Centerbridge Partners for $1.675 billion in an all-cash transaction. Versant Health owns the managed vision care brands Davis Vision and Superior Vision. Following the acquisition, MetLife will gain ...
