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23 Jul 2024
EssilorLuxottica set to acquire an 80% shareholding in Heidelberg Engineering.
EssilorLuxottica, the world’s largest eyewear company - and home to brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley - is making a move into photonics technology with the acquisition of a majority stake in Heidelberg Engineering.
Founded by optics scientists Gerhard Zinser and Christoph Schoess in 1990, Germany-headquartered Heidelberg largely specializes in ophthalmic diagnostic instruments based around optical coherence tomography (OCT), confocal microscopy, and scanning lasers.
Heidelberg's equipment is used widely in clinics and hospitals, for example to diagnose common sight-threatening conditions including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma.
Eye angiography
Among the company’s most recent offerings is an upgraded version of its “SPECTRALIS” OCT angiography (OCTA) instrument, which gained US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) clearance earlier this month.
The addition of “SHIFT” technology is said to reduce acquisition time by 50 per cent, meaning faster scans and workflow when imaging blood vessels in patients’ eyes.
“With a presence in over 100 countries, for more than three decades Heidelberg Engineering has been a reference in early detection of sight-threatening conditions,” announced the two companies.
“As part of EssilorLuxottica, Heidelberg Engineering will continue to serve the market under their well-established brand, delivering the same solutions and expertise their customers have come to expect and trust.”
Co-founder Schoess, who is now Heidelberg’s managing director, added: “Innovation and quality have been key drivers for Heidelberg Engineering ever since Gerhard Zinser and I founded the company 35 years ago.
“Our mission has always been to develop products that provide comprehensive, accurate, and clinically relevant information to aid ophthalmologists in achieving better outcomes for their patients.
“Our future goals include enhancing image quality through higher resolution, expanding the applications of imaging technologies, and integrating AI solutions into the growing HEYEX Healthcare IT platform.
“We are delighted that a global leader in eyecare embraces our vision for creating a shared care system spanning from research to home monitoring. Together, we are strongly positioned to significantly advance patient care and improve clinical outcomes.”
Back in 2015, Heidelberg signed a collaboration and licensing deal covering swept-source OCT technology - where the laser wavelength is swept in time - that had been developed at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The technique is capable of achieving much deeper images that the more conventional spectral domain OCT approach, and more suited to imaging the front (anterior) part of the eye - useful for patients who need cataract or refractive surgery.
Global presence
With a sales turnover exceeding €25 billion in 2023, EssilorLuxottica has a global presence and was created from the merger of France-based Essilor and Italy’s Luxxotica in 2018.
Aside from owning many of the world’s best-known eyewear brands and making spectacles for the likes of Armani and Prada, the company has an extensive retail group, including its largest chain Sunglass Hut.
It also has a controlling stake in Grand Vision, the Netherlands-based company that owns the Vision Express and For Eyes opticians chains.
EssilorLuxottica’s CEO Francesco Milleri and deputy CEO Paul du Saillant stated in a joint company release: “Heidelberg Engineering, renowned for its expertise in early detection and diagnosis, is a perfect fit for EssilorLuxottica as it will bolster our presence in the med-tech space.
“By harnessing the full spectrum of our group's capabilities in the optical industry, from logistics to manufacturing to global distribution, we are dedicated to fostering their long-term growth while enhancing the doctor and patient experience.”
The transaction, for an undisclosed sum, should see EssilorLuxottica acquire an 80 per cent stake in Heidelberg by the end of this year, assuming that regulatory approvals are received.
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