Jan. 8 (Bloomberg) — WellPoint Inc. agreed to sell the online contact-lens site, 1-800-Contacts, to private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners as it focuses on its core insurance business with the start of Obamacare's expanded coverage.
Financial terms weren't disclosed. The transaction will result in a charge of 52 cents to 57 cents a share for the fourth quarter of 2013, Indianapolis-based WellPoint said yesterday in a statement. The health insurer also plans to sell Glasses.com, part of the contact-lens retail operation, to Milan-based Luxottica Group SpA.
WellPoint, the second-largest for-profit insurer in the U.S., operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans in 14 states including California and New York. The company is gearing up for potentially millions of new customers from the insurance marketplaces that began Jan. 1 under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish said the sale of the contact-lens site will raise money for WellPoint's main business.
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