MILAN — Luxottica Group SpA said it plans to take full control of Brazilian eyewear firm Grupo Tecnol Ltda, for an enterprise value of about 110 million euros, or $147 million at current exchange rates.
This confirms a report in WWD on Wednesday.
Under the terms of the agreement, Luxottica will initially purchase 80 percent of Grupo Tecnol, while the remaining 20 percent will be bought over the next four years.
The deal will help the Italian eyewear group to strengthen its presence in Brazil, where it sees strong growth potential.
“Tecnol is the best possible partner for us to strengthen our presence in Brazil and in Latin America as a whole, as it has the same vision, the same approach to excellence in serving consumers and the same vertically integrated business model,” stated Andrea Guerra, chief executive officer of Luxottica.
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Founded in 1972 by Sergio Carnielli, Grupo Tecnol closed 2010 with sales of approximately 90 million euros, or $118.8 million at an average exchange rate for the period, and a compound average growth rate over the last three years of approximately 14 percent.
Based in Campinas, São Paulo state, Tecnol produces eyewear under license for brands including Benetton, Pierre Cardin and Playboy, in addition to its in-house labels Platini, Jean Monnier and Tecnol. The group distributes to approximately 15,000 doors in Brazil and counts a retail optical chain of 90 stores called Oticas Iris.
Luxottica said the transaction would allow it to create synergies for its business, slashing costs connected to importing brands in Brazil and reducing delivery time, for example.
Luxottica owns the Oakley and Ray-Ban labels and holds eyewear licenses with brands such as Bulgari, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany and Versace.
Last year, the company inked an agreement with Coach that will start in January, and it announced in November that it will start producing and distributing eyewear collections for Giorgio Armani beginning in January 2013.