Luxottica, Essilor agree on a $49-bn merger

Both the companies had already explored a possible tie-up a few years ago

Italy’s Luxottica and France’s Essilor 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