Third Point confirms EssilorLuxottica stake

​Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb said on Thursday his hedge fund owns a $700 million stake in Ray-Ban maker ​SA and is urging the company to “accelerate leadership transitions”.

Loeb also said he was still speaking with Sony and remained committed to creating value at the Japanese company even after management largely ignored his proposals for ways to streamline the company’s portfolio.

Loeb wrote a letter to investors seen by Reuters that he and Third Point executives had met with many EssilorLuxottica executives and expect the company to increase earnings and free cash flow at mid-teens CAGR (compound annual growth rate) for several years.

“Combined with the GrandVision acquisition, we expect EL to earn over 8 euros of EPS in 2023, nearly doubling the figure from 2019,” the letter said.