EssilorLuxottica Shares Surge Following Reports of Meta's 3% Stake Acquisition

The stock price of EssilorLuxottica, the Franco-Italian sunglasses company that is the owner of Ray-Ban, increased sharply on Wednesday following articles stating that Meta Platforms had bought just under a 3% stake in EssilorLuxottica.

By 9:25 a.m. GMT, the shares listed in Paris were up by 5.4% at €252, making EssilorLuxottica the biggest gainer on the pan-European STOXX 600.

A source told Reuters that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, bought the stake as part of its work with EssilorLuxottica on smart glasses.Bloomberg further reported that the investment was worth approximately €3 billion ($3.5 billion), and Meta is considering increasing its holding to around 5% over time.

EssilorLuxottica declined to comment on the report, while Meta did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for a statement.

Analysts at Bernstein described the investment as “a vote of confidence in EssilorLuxottica and the potential of smart glasses.”

The two companies previously acknowledged that discussions about a possible Meta investment had taken place.The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that Meta was in negotiations for a 5% equity stake. Only a few months earlier, Meta's top executive, Mark Zuckerberg, had characterized the investment as a "symbolic gesture" intended to underline their long-term partnership.

This investment further increases the Meta overall strategy in wearable tech, and importantly, Meta factories have been reoriented to account for the hardware built into integrations with AI smart technologies. Early in 2023, the company announced another partnership with Oakley, an EssilorLuxottica brand, to launch AI smart glasses under the momentum generated from the successful Ray-Ban Meta collection, which had sold millions of units since its earlier product launch.

The new model, dubbed the “Oakley Meta HSTN,” will feature a high-resolution hands-free camera, open-ear speakers, water resistance, and integration with Meta AI.

EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri stated in February that the company plans to ramp up production capacity for smart glasses and is eager to expand its partnership with Meta to include additional brands.

(Conversion rate: $1 = €0.8527)