EU Watchdog Clears EssilorLuxottica’s $8.5B GrandVision Buy

EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday, March 23, cleared with conditions EssilorLuxottica’s €7.2 billion (US$8.5 billion) buy of GrandVision after the Ray-Ban maker agreed to sell more than 300 stores in three countries to address competition concerns, reported Reuters.

Formed in 2018 from the merger of French lens manufacturer Essilor and Italian spectacles maker, EssilorLuxottica also makes eyewear for luxury brands such as Chanel, Prada, and Versace.

The European Commission stated that EssilorLuxottica pledged to sell a total of 351 stores in Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium to allay concerns that the deal may result in price hikes for frame retailers and reduce competition.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said, “EssilorLuxottica offers leading brands of eyewear products, such as Ray-Ban, whilst GrandVision is a major optical retailer in Europe. Our in-depth investigation showed that, by acquiring a greater retail footprint, EssilorLuxottica could have degraded the access of rival opticians to EssilorLuxottica’s branded eyewear products in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. This would mean less choice and higher-priced eyewear for consumers in those countries. The remedies proposed by EssilorLuxottica will address this risk by ensuring that competition at the optical retail level remains vibrant at national level and to the benefit of customers in these countries.”

The decision follows an in-depth investigation of the proposed acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica. EssilorLuxottica is the largest supplier of ophthalmic lenses and eyewear, both worldwide and in Europe, and has a very large portfolio of well-known brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley. Additionally, EssilorLuxottica is active in the retail sale of optical products, notably in Italy and the UK. GrandVision is a globally active eyewear retailer, which operates some of the largest optical chains throughout Europe, such as GrandOptical and Pearle. EssilorLuxottica sells its products to optical retailers, including GrandVision, which resell them to final consumers.

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