
Transaction Details
December 1, 2012
Stockholm
Sector
Consumer, Retail, E-commerce and Leisure
Deal Type
M&A
Deal Value
N/D
Deal Team
LensOn sold to Glasses Direct
From Swedish to true Nordic, and from local to leading player in less than 6 years
Founded in 2004 in Stockholm, LensOn is a leading online retailer of contact lenses.
The Company is owned by pan-Nordic private equity investment firm Verdane Capital since 2006, when LensOn focused exclusively on the Swedish market.
Since then, the company has expanded into Denmark, Finland and Norway, as well as the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK, with about 50% of revenues in 2012 stemming from other countries.
In 2011, LensOn was designated a Gazelle company by Swedish business newspaper Dagens Industri, and selected e-commerce company of the year by the users of price comparison website Pricerunner.
Verdane returns 6x investment on LensOn exit to a major European player
Prescription Eyewear acquired the company in December 2012.
Doing business as MyOptique.com, SunglassesShop.com and GlassesDirect.com, Prescription Eyewear is a UK-based online retailer of optical products and a portfolio company of Index Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Acton Partners.
The transaction enables Prescription Eyewear to expand its business in European markets, and enhance the quality of the offerings to customers of both companies.
The combined group generated nearly GBP 30m of revenue in 2012 and is now going after a EUR 3bn opportunity in the European online market over the next 3-5 years.
GCA Altium acted as sole advisor to the sellers.