WellPoint to Sell 1-800 Contacts and Glasses.com

WellPoint Inc. will sell contact lens and eyewear retailer 1-800 Contacts to private-equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners, unloading a company it bought for around $900 million less than two years ago. The Indianapolis-based insurer also agreed to sell the glasses.com website and its technology for helping people try on glasses virtually, which were part of the 1-800 Contacts purchase, to Italian eyewear company Luxottica Group SpA. Financial terms of the transactions weren't disclosed, but WellPoint said it would record an impairment charge of between 52 cents and 57 cents a share in the fourth quarter of 2013.