All M&A articles – Page 6
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Article
New owner for Rodenstock
Apax Partners, a private equity firm based in the U.K., has agreed to acquire Rodenstock from Compass Partners, another investment fund and the majority shareholder of the German brand of high-end lenses and frames since February 2016. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. It is subject to ...
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Article
EU green light for Essilux-GrandVision merger
Putting a final point to an investigation started in December 2019, the European Union (EU) announced yesterday evening its conditional clearance for the acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica. The green light is conditioned to the divestment, proposed by EssilorLuxottica, of a total of 351 stores in Belgium, Italy and the ...
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News briefs
Activist investor builds up stake in Bausch Health
The activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed that he has bought 27.8 million shares in Bausch Health, becoming the largest shareholder with a 7.83 percent stake. Following the news, Bausch Health issued a statement saying that its board and management “welcome open communication with our shareholders and constructive input toward the ...
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Article
Essilux to buy 50% of SightGlass Vision from CooperCompanies
EssilorLuxottica will buy a 50 percent stake of SightGlass Vision, which focuses on developing lenses to reduce the progression of myopia in children, from CooperCompanies, the parent company of CooperVision. CooperCompanies held a minority ownership interest in SightGlass Vision and bought the company in January. Under the agreement with Essilux, ...
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Article
GlassesUSA.com raises $45m in funding
GlassesUSA.com has raised $45 million in funding from the Israeli private equity firm Tene Investment Fund. Established in 2008, the online eyewear retailer is a subsidiary of Optimax Eyewear. It was founded by the company’s chief executive Daniel Rothman, chief operating officer Eldad Rothman and chief technology officer Roy Yamner. ...
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News briefs
Hilco Vision buys digital vision testing systems provider
Hilco Vision has acquired M&S Technologies, an Illinois-based provider of digital vision testing systems for the North American market. No financial details were released. M&S was founded in 1990 by its president Joe Marino, who will be staying on in a leadership role with Hilco Vision. Hilco Vision is a ...
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News briefs
Italian post office buys a Chinese e-commerce services provider
The Italian postal and financial services group Poste Italiane and Cloud Seven Holding have signed a binding deal to reinforce their partnership in e-commerce services between Italy and China. Under the deal, Poste Italiane will buy 51 percent of the voting capital of Sengi Express, a wholly-owned unit of Cloud ...
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News briefs
New Look Vision buys The Vision Clinic
New Look Vision has reinforced its position as Canada’s main optical retailer with the acquisition of The Vision Clinic (TVC), which has 12 retail optical clinics in Southern Ontario. The purchase price for an unspecified majority stake was 18.8 million Canadian dollars (€12.1m-$14.8m). TVC was founded in 1994 by the ...
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Article
Cecop continues aggressive expansion in the U.S.
Cecop, the international buying group based in Madrid, continues its rapid expansion in North America with the acquisition of the Alliance Buying Group (ABG), based in Monmouth, Illinois, from Surgery Partners. No financial details were released. Cecop entered the North American market in May with the acquisition of the Combine ...
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News briefs
Italia Independent to proceed with €7.8 million capital increase
Italia Independent has decided to proceed with a previously announced €7.8 million capital increase. The board has authorized the Chief Executive, Marco Cordeddu, to launch the recapitalization towards which the shareholders Lapo Elkann and Creative Ventures have already made advance payments totalling €4 million and which are destined to ...
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Article
Fielmann 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 briefs
EssilorLuxottica 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 briefs
Safilo’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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Article
TechVision 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 briefs
H2 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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Article
Inspecs 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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Article
Italy’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 briefs
Hilco 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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Article
L’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 ...