VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Coastal Contacts Inc. (Nasdaq:COA) (TSX:COA) (Stockholm:COA.ST), an online retailer of vision care products, said last Friday that it intends to offer, on a marketed basis, common shares of Coastal to raise aggregate gross proceeds of approximately U.S.$40 million, approximately U.S. $35.5 million for the account of Coastal and approximately U.S. $4.5 million for the account of certain of Coastal's directors and executive officers.

Coastal will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common shares by the selling shareholders, the company said, noting that its offering will be priced in the context of the market with the final terms of the Offering to be determined at the time of pricing.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C., is acting as sole bookrunning manager, and Roth Capital Partners, LLC, Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Octagon Capital Corporation and PI Financial Corp. are acting as co-managers of the offering. Coastal will also grant the underwriters an over-allotment option to purchase additional Common Shares on the same terms as the offering, in an amount equal to up to 15 percent of the number of common shares sold pursuant to the offering, to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes. This option will be exercisable for a period of 30 days following closing.

Coastal said it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to accelerate its customer acquisition strategy, make certain capital expenditures and improve working capital to fund growth in new and existing distribution channels.
The offering will be made pursuant to a supplement dated Nov. 9, 2012 to Coastal's short form base shelf prospectus dated Nov.7, 2012 both filed in British Columbia and Ontario, as well as in the U.S. as part of an effective registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Closing of the offering will be subject to certain conditions, including receipt of approvals of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC and the Toronto Stock Exchange. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering, the company’s statement said.