PARIS--Ocuco Group, based in Ireland, recently acquired Aspe SII, a well-known French optical retail software firm, for an undisclosed sum. Joel Aspe, founder of Aspe SII, remains president of the company.

With the acquisition, Ocuco is now the largest software company in its sector outside the U.S. with over 5,650 sites using its software worldwide and 90 staff members. Its flagship product Acuitas Enterprise is run in Vision Express’ 200 stores, which is owned by the French company Grand Vision, and features full centralization of patient records and EPoS information. The Ocuco offering also includes software for managing optical labs, ophthalmology clinics, and pharmacies.

Aspe SII is known in France for its software for opticians, dentists and audiologists, and because of its positioning within the private medical insurance organizations in France, a key market niche for which it has become a leader. This is a strategic move for the Ocuco Group, which is planning a global expansion of its business, having made four acquisitions in the past two years in the U.K. and in the U.S.

“France is the third largest optical retail market in Europe. A company aiming at being the global leader in fields relating to optics has to be present in France. This acquisition allows Ocuco to be present on this market with our offering, while expanding the business portfolio of Aspe SII, an existing company with an invaluable level of expertise and know-how that can be deployed across the whole Group,” said Leo Mac Canna, Ocuco Group’s CEO. ■