Speculation That EssilorLuxxotica Wants to Take Over Nikon Resurface

A business publication out of Japan has resurfaced speculation that the eyeglasses juggernaut EssilorLuxottica has an interest in buying out Nikon.

As reported by Yahoo Japan and spotted by Nikon Rumors, the recent financial disclosures from Nikon combined with the increased stake in Nikon that EssilorLuxottica has taken in 2026 has resulted in renewed discussions of an interest in the latter seeking a buyout. This is the fourth time this discussion has come up since 2024, starting with EssilorLuxottica’s initial purchase of a 5.1% stake in the company. Since then, the eyewear corporation has only increased its share, gaining approval to purchase up to a 20% share in the company in late 2025 and nearly doing so by May of this year. EssilorLuxottica now owns 19.61% of Nikon.

This latest note of interest comes via Yahoo Japan, which shared a portion of an article from the Marunouchi Confidential column of the September issue of Bungei Shunju:

Essilor Luxottica, a major French eyewear company with which Nikon has a joint venture, has been rapidly increasing its stake in Nikon, and its ownership ratio is approaching 20%. Essilor is an international brand known for “Ray-Ban,” and some believe that its large holding of Nikon shares is a stepping stone to an acquisition.

There is nothing new about what has been stated there, but disappointing financial disclosures and displeased investors can often lead to renewed acquisition speculation. It worked earlier this year when just the idea of EssilorLuxxotica buying Nikon saw its stock jump 28% to 2,326 JPY per share. Nikon cut its camera and lens sales projections for FY2027 earlier this month and its stock now sits at 1,980 JPY, down 11.9% over the last month. That said, the jump it experienced back in May still sees the company up 13.63% year-to-date.

The restated speculation that EssilorLuxxotica might buy Nikon didn’t have any positive effect on Nikon’s trading in the last week.

It is unlikely that EssilorLuxxotica is interested in purchasing all of Nikon, or if it even can. Given the company’s focus, it is more likely that EssilorLuxxotica is interested in Nikion’s eyewear business than the entirety of the company and even if it were, Japanese regulators are historically staunchly against foreign buyouts, and even though their stance has softened a bit in recent years, allowing this acquisition seems unlikely. That, and EssilorLuxxotica has no board representation at Nikon, despite its status as the largest shareholder, lending credence to the opinion that its investment is purely there as a stabilizing force in a long-term partnership between the brands.

In short, there isn’t any new reason to believe EssilorLuxxotica intends to buy out Nikon in whole or in part.

Image creditsElements of header photo licensed via Depositphotos.com.