Essilor has agreed to buy all outstanding shares of Costa, a US leader in high-performance sunglasses.
The company assembles and markets sunglasses under the Costa and Native brands. It is expected to report approximately US$100 million in revenue for last year.
Designed for serious water sport enthusiasts, Costa is made in Florida and whilst it has only a very small presence in Australia, has a strong market in the south-eastern United States. The Native brand is pitched at mountain locals, or those that aspire to the mountain lifestyle.
Essilor Chairman and CEO, Hubert Sagnières said the “high quality sunglass and prescription sun lens segment offers high potential, given its low penetration rate”.
He said the merger will enable Costa to leverage Essilor’s expertise in surface coatings to develop products in response to specific needs, such as anti-fog or hydrophobic lenses. In the prescription sunglasses segment, Essilor and Costa will work together to broaden product offerings.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2014, subject to approval by regulatory authorities and a majority of Costa shareholders. The acquisition agreement corresponds to an estimated enterprise value of approximately US$270 million.
