Essilor-Luxottica deal gets Competition Commission of India approval

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Jul 13, 2017

Essilor International's acquisition of Luxottica Group, which owns popular sunglass brands Ray-Ban, Oakley among others has got the approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), India’s fair competition government body.

 
In a tweet, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that it has approved "acquisition by Essilor International S.A. of Luxottica Group".

Earlier this year the French lens-maker Essilor International SA and Italian frame designer Luxottica Group announced a merger to create a global eyewear giant.

Essilor International CEO Hubert Sagnières has said in an interview to the Mint earlier that the combined unit was eyeing a15-20% market share in India and that it will produce the Luxottica brands currently imported from the USA locally at a facility in Gurgaon to make all brands available and affordable to Indians.
 
As per the notice submitted to the CCI, the transaction would entail a combination of Essilor International S.A. and Luxottica Group S.p.A. businesses consisting of Delfin S.à.r.l. contributing its entire stake in Luxottica, approximately 62 percent, to Essilor in return for newly- issued Essilor shares.
 
Essilor is engaged in ophthalmic lens development and its flagship brands are Varilux, Crizal, Transitions, Eyezen and Xperio while Luxottica is a market leader in fashion, luxury, sports and performance eyewear with brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley, Vogue Eyewear, Persol, Oliver Peoples, Alain Mikli and Arnette.

The company also owns prestigious licenses for Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Bulgari, Chanel, Dolce&Gabbana, Michael Kors, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany & Co., Versace and Valentino.