EssilorLuxottica Shares Climb After Eyewear Giant Draws Big Tech Interest

By Adria Calatayud

EssilorLuxottica shares rose after the eyewear giant said Google and other big technology companies showed interest in exploring partnerships after its tie-up with Meta Platforms to make Ray-Ban smart glasses.

The Ray-Ban maker is aware of Meta's intention to take a stake, but any share purchases would have to be carried out on the market, EssilorLuxottica Chief Executive Francesco Milleri said during a call with analysts. The remarks came after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Meta was in talks to buy a stake of about 5% in EssilorLuxottica.

At 0859 GMT, shares in EssilorLuxottica trade 7.3% higher at EUR206.90, taking their year-to-date gain to 14%.

The company welcomes any investor, but has no plans for a capital increase dedicated to Meta, Milleri said. EssilorLuxottica's partnership with the Facebook and Instagram owner is strong and doesn't need a stake acquisition, he added.

In addition to Meta, the company has seen interest from Google and other big tech companies in exploring partnerships, EssilorLuxottica's CEO said.

Google didn't respond to a request for comment.

The Verge last week reported, citing unnamed sources, that Google approached EssilorLuxottica about putting its Gemini artificial-intelligence assistant in future smart glasses.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2024 05:23 ET (09:23 GMT)

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