Kering Eyewear to acquire the Danish luxury eyewear brand Lindberg
Kering SA overview
Founded in 1963 and based in Paris, Kering SA develops, designs, manufactures, markets, and sells apparel and accessories. The company offers shoes; leather goods, including handbags and wallets, purses, and other leather products; eyewear, textile accessories, etc.; and jewelry and watches, as well as ready-to-wear products for men and women. It also provides perfumes and cosmetics. The company provides Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, Girard-Perregaux, Ulysse Nardin, and Kering Eyewear branded products. In 2020, Kering SA had total sales of €13,1 bn with an EBITDA of 34,9% in revenue.
Kering Eyewear :
Founded in 2014, Kering Eyewear is part of the Kering Group. Kering Eyewear designs, develops and distributes eyewear for a complete and well-balanced portfolio of 15 brands: Gucci, Cartier, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Chloé, Alexander McQueen, Montblanc, Brioni, Dunhill, Boucheron, Pomellato, Alaïa, McQ and Puma.
In 2020, Kering Eyewear had total sales of €487,1 million (€600 million in 2019).
Lindberg overview :
Founded in 1969 in Denmark, Lindberg is a high-end manufacturer of design-oriented, lightweight, and customizable optical frames with a specialization in titanium. The company’s reputation has been built on its made-to-order capabilities, offering customers the possibility to create their very own bespoke pair of Lindberg glasses through an extended modular system which contains billions of combinations, in a wide array of materials from titanium to acetate, buffalo horn, wood or precious metals. Lindberg has developed and patented manufacturing techniques and innovations such as hypoallergenic, multi-adjustable and screwless frames that are key differentiating factors in the high-end eyewear market. Lindberg has more than 750 employees handling all processes from design over manufacturing to selling directly to high-end optical stores in more than 100 countries.
Deal outcome :
• This acquisition will reinforce Kering Eyewear’s position in the luxury eyewear market segment by adding to its portfolio a complementary and proprietary brand with strong legitimacy, undisputed know-how and best-in-class customer service in optical frames.
• Thanks to their business complementarities, both companies will be able to leverage on their respective strengths across the value chain, with synergies in distribution and geographical reach notably. This will contribute to accelerate the growth and enhance the profitability of Kering Eyewear.
• After the announcement of the acquisition, Kering’s share price rose by 2.4%.
Deal structure :
• Kering Eyewear signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Lindberg from Lindberg family on July 8, 2021.
• The transaction is subject to the clearance by the relevant competition authorities and is expected to complete in the second half of 2021.
• The financial terms of the deal are not disclosed. According to Bernstein, Lindberg would have achieved a turnover of around €100 million and could be valued in a range of 2 to 3 times revenues.
Sources :
– S&P Capital IQ
– https://www.kering.com/en/news/kering-eyewear-acquires-the-danish-luxury-eyewear-brand-lindberg
– https://capitalfinance.lesechos.fr/deals-m-a/mid-cap/kering-rachete-le-lunettier-danois-lindberg-1331131
– https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-marches/kering-lindberg-une-acquisition-modeste-mais-transformante1409071
– https://keringcorporate.dam.kering.com/m/25cbe7955e4aef01/original/Communique-Kering-Eyewearacquiert-Lindberg-08-07-2021-pdf.pdf
– https://www.kering.com/fr/finance/publications/
– https://www.boursorama.com/cours/1zPPX/