WellPoint Will Buy 1-800 Contacts to Expand Retail Offerings
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WellPoint Inc., the second-biggest U.S. health plan, will acquire eyeglass and contact-lens retailer 1-800 Contacts to expand its consumer offerings as more people buy their own medical insurance.
WellPoint will pay private-equity firm Fenway Partners about $900 million for 1-800 Contacts, said a person familiar with the agreement who asked not to be identified because the information hasn’t been disclosed. The insurer trimmed its 2012 profit forecast by 4 cents as a result of the deal, to $7.80 a share, Indianapolis-based WellPoint said in a statement today.