Reade Fahs.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.— KKR (NYSE: KKR) has closed on their acquisition of National Vision Inc. (NVI) from Berkshire Partners. The deal for KKR’s purchase of optical retailer NVI from Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm, was first reported by VMail on Feb. 10.

With the closing of the transaction with KKR, Reade Fahs, NVI’s CEO, told VMail, “I am pleased to share that as part of the deal, Berkshire Partners has remained in, as a minority investor.”

Fahs added, "We at National Vision are excited to be starting down the road with our new partner, KKR, and pleased that our former owner has decided to remain with us for the next chapter as well. Now with the acquisition complete, NVI management is pleased to be back to focusing our energies entirely on serving our patients and customers via serving our associated optometrists and customer-facing store associates."

NVI, the fourth largest optical retailer in the U.S., operating over 750 retail locations in 43 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, is the fastest growing independent optical retailer and is one of the few retailers that is focused exclusively on the value segment of the industry. The company operates vision centers across the country, including America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses and Eyeglass World free-standing concepts and vision centers inside Walmart, Fred Meyer and on U.S. Military bases. NVI also sells its products direct to consumers through 25 consumer-facing websites, including ACLens.com and DiscountContactLenses.com.