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By Olivia Oran and Greg Roumeliotis and Soyoung Kim
Oct 30 (Reuters) - National Vision Inc is exploring a salethat could value the fourth largest retailer of eyeglasses andcontact lenses in the United States at around $1 billion, threepeople familiar with the matter said this week.
The Lawrenceville, Georgia-based company, which is owned byprivate equity firm Berkshire Partners LLC, is working withBarclays Plc on the sale process, the people said.
National Vision's earnings before interest, tax,depreciation and amortization are seen at between $90 millionand $100 million, two of the people added.
The sources asked not to be identified because the saleprocess is not public. Berkshire Partners and Barclays declinedto comment. National Vision did not respond to a request forcomment.
National Vision, which focuses on low cost glasses andcontacts, operates over 700 retail locations in 43 states underchains that include America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses andEyeglass World. It is the fourth biggest player in the U.S.optical market behind Luxottica Group Spa, Wal-MartStores Inc and Visionworks of America Inc.
Last year National Vision extended a partnership it had withWal-Mart for five years which allows it to manage 227 storeswithin Wal-Mart, according to Standard & Poor's Rating ServicesInc.
National Vision also has stores inside Fred Meyer Inc andmilitary bases and sells its products online. The companyemploys over 6,000 people, according to its website.
Berkshire Partners took National Vision private in 2005 in a$190 million deal that was funded with $153 million in debt andincluded simultaneously acquiring Consolidated Vision Group Inc,another optical chain that was backed by private equity firmKelso & Company, for $88 million.
In 2009 National Vision acquired EyeGlass World for anundisclosed amount. Any other equity investments that BerkshirePartners may have made in National Vision have also not beendisclosed, yet the buyout firm has already got its investor'smoney back on its original 2005 investment in the company evenbefore any sale.
This is because National Vision last year carried out adividend recapitalization, borrowing $300 million to fund a $117million dividend, according to Moody's Investors Service Inc.This followed another $88 million dividend two years earlierfunded through more debt, according to Thomson Reuters LoanPricing Corp.
Boston-based Berkshire Partners, which raised its latest$4.5 billion fund in 2011, has invested in several other retailcompanies, including women's apparel chain Aritzia and jeansmaker Citizens of Humanity.
