Luxottica/Essilor €46 billion merger

Overview:

• Luxottica and Essilor have agreed a €46 billion all-share merger.
• Luxottica is a spectacle manufacturer based in Italy, which owns brands such as Ray-Ban and Oakley. It is partially owned by Delfin. 
• Essilor, based in France, is a lens manufacturer.
• The merged group, to be known as EssilorLuxottica, will be headquartered in Paris and have 140,000 staff. The combined group will be listed on the Euronext Paris.
• The merger comes at a time when, according to Jefferies, the global prescription eyewear market is expected to grow between 2-4% a year.

Sam Duke - Editor