The acquisition of Transitions Optical by Essilor has now been finalized. The transaction, announced in Capsule DotClip on August 9, went through all the approval steps. Since acquiring 51% of the shares of PPG, Essilor has become the sole owner of Transitions Optical. The transaction is valued at $1.73 billion.

 

Various changes in Transitions’s senior management have been announced.  Rick Elias, Senior vice-president Optical and Specialty Materials and Chief Executive Officer, is retiring. Dave Cole, after working for 24 years at Transitions, is going back to PPG as vice-president of the Packaging Coatings Unit. Paddy McDermott is now the new president of Transitions. Finally, Bertrand Roy, senior vice-president of Strategic Partnerships at Essilor, will lead the Transitions Optical Business Unit for the Essilor group. All these changes are becoming effective today, April 1, 2014.

Signet Armorlite and Riverside Opticalab have signed a distribution agreement for Kodak lenses in Canada. The agreement takes effect February 27.

 

Riverside Opticalab has been licensed to produce the Kodak Clean’N’CleAR^TM coatings and Free Form lenses, namely Kodak Unique^TM, Precise^® PB, and Precise^® Short PB digital lenses.

“This is very much aligned with our corporate mission to expand our commitment to offering and developing the best optical solutions to the eyecare professionals in Canada,” said Roland Laplante, president of the Riverside Opticalab group.

“With Riverside Opticalab’s license and qualification to produce these lens designs and anti-reflective coating, more Canadian eyecare professionals will be able to offer these various lens technologies with a recognized brand name,” stated Brad Staley, president of Signet Armorlite.

The KODAK Unique^TM and KODAK Precise^® PB full backside progressive lenses are designs created by Signet Armorlite, Inc. They offer ease of dispensing and a high rate of adaptation.

Sources:

Riverside Opticalab, Signet Armorlite

Essilor has entered into an agreement with Coastal Contacts Inc. to acquire Coastal.com, a transaction worth about $430 million.

 

The purchase price of $12.45 per share to be paid by Essilor represents a premium of 43% over the three-month average price for Coastal.com on the TSX ($8.73) and 84% over the six-month average price ($6.78).

 

“Essilor shares Coastal.com’s focus on customers, innovation and growth,” said Roger Hardy, Coastal.com’s founder and CEO. “The combination will enhance Coastal.com’s ability to achieve its goals while realizing a significant all-cash premium for our shareholders. I am confident this transaction is the right decision for Coastal.com, our employees and our shareholders.”

 

The agreement remains to be approved by shareholders and the relevant authorities. It has already been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors. Since the sale has not yet been completed, the Board could receive a better offer from another buyer, in which case Essilor would have the right to match the new offer. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.

Source:

http://investors.coastal.com/Press-Room/News-Releases/Press-Release-Details/2014/Essilor-International-Agrees-to-Acquire-Coastalcom-for-430-Million/default.aspx

 

Missed games associated with eye injuries sustained by hockey players cost franchises in the National Hockey League (NHL) more than $32 million from 2002 to 2013, according to a study presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

 

The researchers identified 149 eye injuries in that time frame. The majority of them were caused by being hit by the puck (37%) or struck by a high stick (28%). Only 18% were caused by fights.

 

Players who do not wear a visor are 4.23 times more likely to sustain eye injury. By measuring penalty minutes, hits and fights, the study was also able to show that the most aggressive players are most averse to wearing a visor.

 

“Although it may seem like common sense to wear visors, until now there was little evidence that they could decrease injuries or could save the league money,” said lead researcher Jonathan Micieli, of the University of Toronto. “Quantifying these factors can make a big difference in the NHL’s policy discussions.”

 

Since June 2013, players new to the game must wear a visor. Those who had played over 26 games in the NHL at the time the rule was introduced can, however, decide whether or not they will wear one. About 73% of players wore visors during the 2012-2013 season.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131116171108.htm

 

Gartner Inc. claims that as early as 2017, web-connected eyewear, such as Google Glass and Gear Glass by Samsung, could bring in billions of dollars a year for businesses that use them.

 

According to Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner, these savings would stem from an increase in efficiency and production for technicians, engineers and employees in the field, in maintenance, health and production services. With this type of device, young employees could learn to perform a task by following instructions displayed on the Glass or workers could resolve problems quicker at remote sites.

 

Furthermore, the American company, Rochester Optical, recently announced that it will be manufacturing ophthalmic lenses for the Google Glass as of January 2014. This will make the Glass more accessible to the general population. Since there is currently no agreement binding Rochester Optical and Google, the lenses will need to be ordered separately.

 

Google also sees a possible competitor emerging from an unexpected sector. Japanese car maker Nissan has indicated its intention to launch its own web-connected glasses. Nissan will show its prototype at the 43^rd Tokyo Motor Show. The 3E glasses will be able to display navigation data, capture the health status of the driver and his/her car, and even send photos and videos.

 

What remains to be seen is whether the authorities will approve wearing these glasses while driving; they already have to deal with the epidemic of drivers who text behind the wheel…

Sources:

http://www.acuite.fr/articles.asp?REF=9126 

http://www.directioninformatique.com/des-lentilles-ophtalmiques-seront-offertes-pour-les-lunettes-de-google/22888

http://auto.lapresse.ca/technologies/201311/13/01-4710373-nissan-presentera-des-lunettes-connectees-au-salon-de-tokyo.php