Shares in EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear producer and the maker of the famed Ray-Ban glasses, jumped on Wednesday after stories that tech large Meta Platforms had acquired a stake of almost 3% within the Franco-Italian firm.
The shares, that are listed in Paris, rose 5.4% to 252 euros (almost $295) by 9:25 a.m. GMT, the largest gainer on the pan-European STOXX 600.
Facebook-parent Meta, which has a partnership with the corporate for the manufacturing of smartglasses, has acquired a virtually 3% stake within the eyewear maker, a supply advised Reuters on Tuesday.
Bloomberg mentioned that Meta had purchased a stake value round 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in EssilorLuxottica and is contemplating additional investments that would construct its holding to round 5% over time.
EssilorLuxottica declined to remark, whereas Meta didn’t instantly reply when contacted by Reuters.
“The investment should be read as a vote of confidence in EssilorLuxottica in the smart-glasses opportunity,” mentioned analysts at Bernstein.
Last yr, each EssilorLuxottica and Meta confirmed they mentioned a possible funding by Meta within the firm, after the Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. group was in talks to purchase a 5% stake.
In September, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg mentioned it could have been a “symbolic” gesture to cement their long-term partnership.
Sprucing up its wearable expertise with synthetic intelligence capabilities may assist Meta appeal to new customers because it invests billions of {dollars} in bolstering its AI infrastructure.
The social media large introduced earlier this yr it teamed up with Oakley, one other EssilorLuxottica model, to launch AI-powered sensible glasses, increasing its push into wearable tech after the success of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, tens of millions of which have been bought since their launch in 2023.
The “Oakley Meta HSTN” will function a hands-free high-resolution digicam, open-ear audio system, water resistance and Meta AI capabilities.
EssilorLuxottica deliberate to spice up its manufacturing capability for sensible glasses and hopes to increase its collaboration with Meta to different manufacturers, Chief Executive Francesco Milleri had mentioned in February.
Source: www.dailysabah.com