Blog

March 26, 2021March 26, 2021

EssilorLuxottica Signs Agreement to Acquire Walman in the U.S.

EssilorLuxottica has entered into an agreement to acquire U.S. based lab network Walman. Walman has been a leading partner to vision care practices around the country for more than 100 years.

“Walman is a company we’ve admired as a longtime partner – they share EssilorLuxottica’s customer-first sensibility and our relentless pursuit of higher service standards. They also share our history of employee shareholding, which makes them an ideal cultural fit for our family. Walman has cultivated broad recognition and relationship equity and we will invest in the areas that make them such a great partner to the industry,” commented Francesco Milleri and Paul du Saillant, respectively CEO and Deputy CEO of EssilorLuxottica.

Walman has a network of 35 facilities across the U.S., including prescription lens-finishing labs and hubs for optical instruments and other vision care products. As part of EssilorLuxottica, Walman will continue to serve the market under the Walman brand, delivering the same customer intimacy, service and solutions their customers have come to expect.

“EssilorLuxottica’s investment in Walman is an important next step for our customers and employees”, said Marty Bassett, President & CEO of Walman. “It was time for Walman to find an investment partner to support its future success. We chose EssilorLuxottica because of our shared values and their proven history of working with independent businesses to accelerate growth while supporting the entrepreneurial spirit and company culture that made each business successful in the first place.”

The transaction is expected to close in the coming months pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Click HERE for the full press release.

Hoya Hosts Interactive Webinar on Myopia Control for Canadian ECPs

Hoya Vision Care Canada will be hosting an interactive webinar discussing Myopia Management on April 7th @ 7:00pm EDT. Three expert guest speakers will share their experience with myopia management, treatment options, methods, and recommendations for implementing successful strategies. Guest speakers are Dr. Langis Michaud, Dr. Devan Trishuk and INNOVA’s product Specialist.

Topics include:

• Myopia risk factors and the importance of treating myopic patients

• Industry facts and information about myopia

• Available treatment options and evaluation

• Reviews and clinical studies about MiYOSMART lenses with D.I.M.S. technology

• How to adopt successful myopia management practices

• Tools and equipment to help you measure axial elongation and compliment your myopia management practice through reporting for yourself and your patients

Following presentations, there will be a Live Q & A session for participants and Guest Speakers.

Complete details available HERE.

Click HERE for the full press release.

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021

Apax Funds to Acquire Rodenstock

Funds advised by Apax today announced an agreement to acquire Rodenstock Group from Compass Partners.

The Apax Funds will support the Rodenstock management team’s vision of accelerating the company’s growth through innovation, commercial execution and digitisation, whilst continuing to deliver the highest level of service to clients and partners.

Anders Hedegaard, CEO of Rodenstock, said: “We are excited to partner with the Apax Funds, who have a proven culture of investing for growth, and who will be able to support Rodenstock’s continued quest to develop and produce the highest quality lenses for our customers. During 2020 we saw tremendous growth driven by our B.I.G. VISION™ technology, which helped us emerge from the Covid-19 crisis stronger than most of our competitors. Our innovative technology enhances the value proposition that can be delivered by our opticians, who in turn are delivering optimal vision to consumers. With the support of Apax we are looking to expand our presence even further by offering our customers more excellent and innovative products.”

Steven Dyson, Partner at Apax and Co-Head of Healthcare, commented: “Rodenstock fits perfectly with the Apax Funds’ healthcare strategy of investing in innovative companies with a differentiated customer proposition and the potential to achieve stand-out growth. Under Anders’ management, Rodenstock’s strategic refocus has already translated into strong performance in 2019 and 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, creating a robust foundation for future success.”

Tim Wright, Partner at Compass Partners, commented: “In the last 5 years Rodenstock has been transformed into a global leader in ophthalmic lenses. We are delighted that the Apax Funds have agreed to acquire the business. We believe their partnership with Anders Hedegaard and his team will provide a strong platform for future growth which will allow Rodenstock to maximise its full potential.”

The transaction is subject to applicable regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the middle of 2021. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Click HERE for the full press release.

March 24, 2021March 24, 2021

Update on Proposed Acquisition of GrandVision

EssilorLuxottica confirms that the European Commission has cleared the acquisition of GrandVision after a long in-depth review largely impacted by consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The clearance is conditioned to the divestment of some optical retail businesses in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy for an overall number of approximately 350 stores.

In particular:

In Belgium, the GrandOptical chain and its 35 stores will be sold but without the brand name. The purchaser will have a license while rebranding these stores to its own choice of name.
In Italy, the merged entity will divest a total of 174 stores, which includes the whole of EssilorLuxottica’s VistaSì chain together with 72 stores from the “GrandVision by” chain. The VistaSì brand will be transferred and the “GrandVision by” stores will either be rebranded to VistaSì or to the purchaser’s own brand.
In the Netherlands, 142 stores from the EyeWish chain will be sold, together with the brand name. The merged entity will keep some stores from this chain and will have to rebrand them under a new name.

The outcome of the proposed transaction is still depending on the sign off from the competition authorities in Chile and Turkey, as well as the decisions regarding on-going litigations.

Click HERE for the full press release.

Georgian Helps Fill Urgent Need for Guide Dogs

The CNIB Foundation announces that Georgian has responded to the urgent need for guide dogs in Canada caused by the COVID-19 pandemic by sponsoring a dog for its entire working life.

With a strong sense of social responsibility to the community, Georgian and its employees nominate and vote on charitable organizations they’d like to support each year. CNIB Guide Dogs was chosen as a recipient in 2021.

Since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place last year, CNIB Guide Dogs has seen a 375% increase in interest and application for dogs. Travel restrictions have halted access to guide dogs from the United States, so Canadians who would normally travel to an American guide dog facility are no longer able to do so.

People with sight loss who have received guide dogs say the experience is nothing short of life changing. With a guide dog by their side, a Canadian who is blind or partially sighted can safely and confidently navigate the world – whether that means going to the grocery store to get essentials, travelling to and from work, or visiting family and friends when it’s safe to do so.

Click HERE for the full press release.

EssilorLuxottica Signs Agreement to Acquire Walman in the U.S.

Hoya Hosts Interactive Webinar on Myopia Control for Canadian ECPs

Apax Funds to Acquire Rodenstock

Update on Proposed Acquisition of GrandVision

Georgian Helps Fill Urgent Need for Guide Dogs

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