EssilorLuxottica enters Romanian eyewear retail market after acquiring Innova Capital's stake in Optical Investment Group

EssilorLuxotticahas entered into an agreement for the acquisition of the entire share capital of Optical Investment Group, a retailer of optical eye-care and eyewear products in Romania, from Innova/6, a private equity fund of Innova Capital Group, and a group of individual minority shareholders.

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2024, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Optical Investment Group was set up in 2019 in cooperation with Innova Capital by combining two established Romanian optical retail chains: OPTIblu and Optiplaza.

The group operates an optical retail network consisting of 99 directly operated stores under the brands OPTIblu, Optiplaza, and O51.

Over the past five years, Optical Investment Group has expanded its network of traditional stores and has developed e-commerce channels. It has more than 650 employees.

"We are pleased to welcome Optical Investment Group into our network, a well-established player in the Romanian optical market with an experienced management team and a deep knowledge of the local dynamics. Allowing us to further grow our retail presence in the CEE region, this acquisition supports our objective to elevate the Romanian market and expand access to high-quality vision care for the benefit of all our stakeholders," Francesco Milleri, chairman and CEO at EssilorLuxottica, said.

"We were happy to see the business grow and develop over the last five years and solidify its leading position in Romania. We are confident that it will continue to flourish and grow for many years to come as part of the global EssilorLuxottica family," Leszek Muzyczyszyn, Senior Partner at Innova Capital, said.

Eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica has over 200,000 employees across 150 countries, 650 operations facilities, and 18,000 stores. In 2023, the company generated a consolidated revenue of EUR 25.4 billion.

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