Models Gigi Hadid and Ireland Baldwin attend Ray-Ban celebrates District 1937 featuring Blondie and MS MR on May 15, 2014 in New York City. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Luxottica (Reuters) - Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French corrective eye lens maker Essilor have agreed on a €50 billion (£44 billion, $53.16 billion) merger.

The deal will make Luxottica's founder, Leonardo Del Vecchio, the largest single shareholder in the combined company with about a 30% stake. He will also serve as Executive Chairman and CEO of the new company, which will be called EssilorLuxottica

Post-merger, the company will have a turnover of €15 billion, more than 140,000 staff, and sales in over 150 countries, Esslior says in a statement announcing the deal. The deal is expected to "generate significant synergies" — business-speak for cost savings — of up to €600 million.

The company says the deal will allow both businesses to "better seize growth opportunities resulting from strong demand in the eyewear market."

Luxottica, founded by Del Vecchio in 1961, owns iconic sunglasses brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley and also has the license for brands such as Burberry and Ralph Lauren. It owns the retail chain Sunglass Hut.

Essilor, meanwhile, makes corrective glasses and lenses for people will eyesight problems.

Leonardo Del Vecchio says in a statement: "The marriage between two key companies in their sectors will bring great benefits to the market, for employees and mainly for all our consumers. Finally, after fifty years, two products which are naturally complementary, namely frames and lenses, will be designed, manufactured and distributed under the same roof."

Essilor CEO and chairman Hubert Sagnières says in a statement: "Our project has one simple motivation: to better respond to the needs of an immense global population in vision correction and vision protection by bringing together two great companies, one dedicated to lenses and the other to frames.

"By joining forces today, these two international players can now accelerate their global expansion to the benefit of customers, employees and shareholders as well as the industry as a whole."

UBS analyst Fred Spiers says in a note sent to clients on Monday: "The new group would be a clear leader on the optical industry with a strong brand portfolio, global distribution capabilities and complementary expertise in ophthalmic lenses, prescription frames and sunglasses."

(Reporting by Rama Venkat Raman in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney)</s>January 16, 2017

 by The Associated Press

PARIS—A new European eyewear giant is set to emerge as Italian frames maker Luxottica—maker of brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley—joins with French lens manufacturer Essilor in a multibillion-euro merger.

Essilor International SA announced Jan. 16 it had reached a share exchange deal with Luxottica’s main shareholder, Delfin, to create a combined company making both frames and lenses.

Shares in both companies jumped on the news.

The statement said the new company would have combined revenues of more than 15 billion euros (US$16 billion), 140,000 employees and sales in more than 150 countries.

The French lens maker said the merger is an effort to meet growing global demand for corrective lenses, sunglasses and luxury frames.</s>Italy’s Luxottica and France’s Essilor have agreed a €46-billion merger deal to create a global powerhouse in the eyewear industry with revenues of more than €15 billion, they said in a statement on Monday.

The deal, one of Europe’s largest cross-border tie-ups, brings together Luxottica, the world’s top spectacles maker with brands such as Oakley and Ray Ban, with Essilor, the world’s leading manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses.

Under the terms of the merger, Luxottica’s 81-year old founder, Leonardo Del Vecchio, will take a stake of between 31 and 38 per cent in the merged group through his family holding Delfin, becoming the biggest shareholder in the company. Delfin will contribute its 62 per cent stake in Luxottica at a ratio of 1 share in the Italian group for every 0.461 Essilor shares.

The French lens maker in turn will launch a mandatory exchange offer on all remaining Luxottica shares, at the same ratio, with the aim of delisting Luxottica’s shares. Del Vecchio, who two years ago returned at the helm of Luxottica after a decade out of the limelight, will be the CEO and executive chairman of the merged company that will be called EssilorLuxottica and be listed in Paris.

Essilor Chairman and CEO, Hubert Sagnires, will be executive vice-chairman and deputy CEO of EssilorLuxottica with the same powers as the chairman and CEO.

Luxottica and Essilor, which have a market value of around €24 billion and €22 billion respectively, had already explored a possible tie-up a few years ago.</s>Ray-Ban maker Luxottica has agreed to a €46bn (£41bn) merger with French lens manufacturer Essilor.

The Italian eyewear group and its French competitor announced that the combined group will be called EssilorLuxottica and will be listed in Paris - and is expected to generate revenues of more than €15bn.

Under the terms of the merger, Luxottica's 81-year old founder, Leonardo Del Vecchio, will take a stake of between 31 and 38 per cent in the combined group through his family holding Delfin, becoming the biggest shareholder in the company. Del Vecchio returned to the helm of the group in 2014 after previous boss Enrico Cavatorta quit. He will be chief executive and executive chairman of the merged company.

Essilor chairman and chief exec Hubert Sagnières will be executive vice-chairman and deputy CEO of EssilorLuxottica, with the same powers as the chairman and chief executive.

Luxottica and Essilor, which have a market value of around €24bn and €22bn respectively, had already explored a possible tie-up a few years ago.

This is the second major deal Essilor has entered into over the last 12 months - in August 2016 the French group bought online glasses retailer MyOptique, which owns the Sunglasses Shop and Glasses Direct.</s>Italy’s and France’s have agreed a 46-billion euros ($49 billion) merger deal to create a global powerhouse in the eyewear industry with revenues of more than 15 billion euros, they said in a statement on Monday.

The deal, one of Europe’s largest cross-border tie-ups, brings together Luxottica, the world’s top spectacles maker with brands such as Oakley and Ray Ban, with Essilor, the world’s leading manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses.

Under the terms of the merger, Luxottica’s 81-year old founder, Leonardo Del Vecchio, will take a stake of between 31 and 38 per cent in the merged group through his family holding Delfin, becoming the biggest shareholder in the company. will contribute its 62 per cent stake in at a ratio of one share in the Italian group for every 0.461 shares. The French lens maker, in turn, will launch a mandatory exchange offer on all remaining shares, at the same ratio, with the aim of delisting Luxottica’s shares.

Del Vecchio, who two years ago returned at the helm of after a decade out of the limelight, will be the chief executive officer (CEO) and executive chairman of the merged company that will be called and be listed in Paris.

Chairman and CEO, Hubert Sagnières, will be executive vice-chairman and deputy CEO of with the same powers as the chairman and CEO.

and Essilor, which have a market value of around 24 billion euros and 22 billion euros respectively, had already explored a possible tie-up a few years ago.

said in September 2014 discussions had taken place 18 months earlier but were dropped due to a number of reasons including shareholding governance issues.

The fast-growing eyewear market was valued at around $100 billion in 2015, according to US-based market consulting company Grand View Research. It is expected to keep expanding at a healthy pace in coming years because of an ageing population as well as increasing awareness about eye care and vision problems, with Latin America and Asia seen as key markets for growth.

has been dogged by management upheaval in recent years, raising questions over Del Vecchio’s succession plans and strategy. Some insiders have said a merger could help settle such issues.

announced a year ago the departure of its third chief executive in 17 months when Adil Mehboob-Khan, a former Procter & Gamble executive, stepped down and Del Vecchio tightened his grip on the group by taking on executive powers.</s>The world’s largest glasses maker Luxottica has agreed to a 46 billion euro merger with rival French eye wear firm Essilor to create a global colossus with revenue of more than 15 billion euros, the firms said on Monday.

Luxottica and Essilor shares jumped on the news of a combined company that will make both frames and lenses employing 1,40,000 employees with sales in more than 150 countries.

Luxottica’s 81-year-old founder and executive chairman Leonardo Del Vecchio said he had realised a dream with the tie-up with Essilor.

“With this agreement my dream to create a major global player in the eyewear industry, fully integrated and excellent in all its parts, comes true.

“Finally … two products which are naturally complementary – namely frames and lenses – will be designed, manufactured and distributed under the same roof,” Del Vecchio said.

One of Europe’s largest cross-border mergers, the deal merges Italian eyewear designer Luxottica, which owns Ray-Ban and Oakley, with Essilor, the world’s leading manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses.

“By joining forces today, these two international players can now accelerate their global expansion to the benefit of customers, employees and shareholders as well as the industry as a whole,” said Essilor’s chairman and CEO Hubert Sagnieres.

Under the deal, Luxottica’s main shareholder Delfin will be the largest stakeholder in the new eyewear giant to be called EssilorLuxottica, Luxottica and Essilor said in a joint statement.

The deal will also help to offer a succession plan for Del Vecchio, an issue that weighed on the firm’s share price, which has dropped 14 percent in the past year.

An orphan who became Italy’s richest man, he founded Luxottica in 1961 and drove its growth through a series of acquisitions.

Since 2014 he has boosted investments to expand the company’s retail network and increased its lens manufacturing business.</s>By The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — A new European eyewear giant is set to emerge as Italian frames maker Luxottica — maker of brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley — joins with French lens manufacturer Essilor in a multibillion-euro merger.

Essilor International SA announced Monday it had reached a share exchange deal with Luxottica’s main shareholder, Delfin, to create a combined company making both frames and lenses.

Shares in Luxottica and Essilor jumped on the news.

The statement said the new company would have combined revenues of more than 15 billion euros ($16 billion), 140,000 employees and sales in more than 150 countries.

Essilor said the merger is an effort to meet growing global demand for corrective lenses, sunglasses and luxury frames.

Comments

 WTOP is now using Facebook as our comment platform. Need help? Email us</s>Italy's Luxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban, and France's Essilor have agreed a 46 billion euro merger to create a global powerhouse in the eyewear industry with annual revenue of more than 15 billion euros. Ivor Bennett reports.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>Italian glasses giant Luxottica has agreed an eye-watering £40bn merger deal with Essilor, the world’s leading manufacturer of lenses, to create a global behemoth in the eyewear industry.

Luxottica, which owns the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands and was founded by Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italy’s richest man, will join up with the French lens maker in one of Europe’s biggest ever cross-border deals.

Mr Del Vecchio, 81, will be the combined company’s largest single shareholder with a stake between 31 and 38pc, although his voting rights will be capped at 31pc.

His Luxottica company has a market value of around £21bn, with Essilor’s at around £19bn.

“With this agreement my dream to create a major global player in the eyewear industry… comes finally true,” said Mr Del Vecchio.</s>Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French corrective eye lens maker Essilor have agreed on a 50 billion euros ($53.16 billion) merger, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The deal would make Luxottica's founder, Leonardo Del Vecchio, the largest single shareholder in the combined company with about a 30 percent stake, the FT said.

Luxottica and Essilor were not immediately available for comment.
Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French corrective eyewear manufacturer Essilor agree to a €50 billion merger.