Moody, a Chinese coloured contact lens maker, is exploring a potential sale with Morgan Stanley acting as sellside advisor, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The sellside has been approaching potential buyers since earlier this year and has held bilateral discussions with a select group of strategic and private equity investors, the sources said. No formal auction process is currently underway, they added.

The company was reported to be considering a sale that could value it at about USD 1bn, according to a Bloomberg report on 5 March.

In 2021, Weimu (Shanghai) Technology, the owner of Moody, raised more than CNY 1bn (USD 156.1m) in its Series C round, 36Kr reported on 1 November 2021. The financing was jointly led by KKR and 5Y Capital, according to the Chinese-language report.

Hillhouse, Tencent, CPE, Source Code and Plum Ventures are among the investors of Moody, the report added.

Founded in 2019, Moody is a coloured contact lenses brand that specialises in natural-looking everyday wear, according to its website. The company designs coloured contact lenses and partners with leading manufacturers for R&D.

Separately, the sale of Taiwanese contact lens maker Ginko’s China operations has progressed to the binding round, with Blackstone, Primavera Capital, CPE and CVC Capital Partners among the shortlisted bidders, according to a previous Mergermarket report, highlighting continued deal activity in China’s contact lens sector.

KKR declined to comment. Moody, Morgan Stanley, 5Y Capital, Hillhouse, Tencent, CPE, Source Code and Plum Ventures did not respond to requests for comment.