Meta Eyes Multibillion-Dollar Investment in Ray-Ban Maker EssilorLuxottica

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is exploring a substantial investment in EssilorLuxottica, the Franco-Italian eyewear giant known for its Ray-Ban brand, the Financial Times reports.

The social media conglomerate has been in talks with EssilorLuxottica about acquiring a minor stake in the company, which is valued at €87 billion. This potential investment aims to deepen their existing partnership, which has already seen the successful launch of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

Launched last year, the latest version of these glasses outperformed its predecessor in sales within just a few months.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, has heavily invested in wearable technology, including virtual reality headsets, in a bid to establish a strong presence in the market. On the other hand, EssilorLuxottica, listed on the Paris stock exchange, has been making strategic moves to attract younger consumers through innovative deals.

While there is no certainty that Meta will proceed with the investment, the discussions are ongoing, with Morgan Stanley advising Meta on the potential deal. The news of these talks led to a nearly 5% increase in EssilorLuxottica’s share price.

Neither Meta, EssilorLuxottica, nor Morgan Stanley have commented on the potential investment.

The collaboration between Meta and EssilorLuxottica began with the launch of the first generation of Ray-Ban Meta glasses in 2021. The latest version, launched in October last year, allows users to livestream their view directly to Facebook and Instagram.

In the United States, these glasses are integrated with Meta’s artificial intelligence assistant, enabling users to ask for information about their surroundings.

This week, EssilorLuxottica announced its acquisition of the US streetwear label Supreme for $1.5 billion. Sources close to the deal indicated that the eyewear company plans to launch a new version of Supreme smart sunglasses in partnership with Meta.