Goldman Sachs buys near 20% stake in Germany's Mister Spex

Goldman Sachs' private equity arm has reportedly picked up a minority stake in Germany's Mister Spex, a leading online spectacles retailer.

Goldman Sachs' merchant banking division and existing shareholders Glasgow-based Scottish Equity Partners (SEP), London-based DN Capital and Paris-based XAnge have infused $40m (£26m, €34m) into Mister Spex, the company said in statement.

Goldman Sachs led the latest funding round, the statement added, and has acquired a near 20% stake in the e-commerce venture, Reuters reported.

The US investment bank is seen betting on the speedy growth of online sales of glasses, which is eating into business at traditional opticians such as Germany's leading Fielmann and Apollo Optik.

Mister Spex said the funds will be used to "support [its German] and international growth plans".

Dirk Graber, CEO and founder of Mister Spex said in the statement: "We also want to use the money to strengthen our logistics proposition and broaden our stationary opticians partner network."

Mister Spex, which employs over 300 people, expects to post double-digit growth for 2014.

By comparison, Frankfurt-traded Fielmann, which does not sell its wares over the internet, expected 6% sales growth to €1.2bn for 2014.

In 2013, Mister Spex' sales rose to €48m from €26m a year ago, according to the statement.