Ray-Ban Maker Near Deal for Dutch Eyewear Seller
Ray-Ban Maker Near Deal for Dutch Eyewear Seller
(Bloomberg) -- Ray-Ban sunglasses maker EssilorLuxottica SA is nearing a deal to buy Dutch eyewear retailer GrandVision NV, people familiar with the matter said.
The Franco-Italian company and GrandVision’s controlling shareholder, HAL, could reach an agreement as early as this week, said the people, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Talks could still be delayed or fall apart, they said.
EssilorLuxottica is scheduled to report its financial results on Wednesday. Representatives for EssilorLuxottica, GrandVision and HAL declined to comment.
The companies have been in discussions about a deal that would value GrandVision at about 7.1 billion euros ($7.9 billion), or 28 euros a share, they said in July following a Bloomberg report on the negotiations. After buying HAL’s approximately 77% stake in GrandVision, EssilorLuxottica would bid for the rest of the Dutch company’s shares.
By adding GrandVision, which sells prescription glasses, contact lenses and other eyecare products, EssilorLuxottica would gain more than 7,000 stores in more than 40 countries. GrandVision operates under retail brands including Brilleland and For Eyes. In addition to its well-known sunglasses labels, including Oakley, EssilorLuxottica owns retail chains including LensCrafters and Pearle Vision.
GrandVision raised about 1 billion euros in its initial public offering in 2015, plugging the money into expansion plans and valuing the company at about 5 billion euros at the time.
--With assistance from Joost Akkermans and Ruben Munsterman.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tommaso Ebhardt in Milan at tebhardt@bloomberg.net;Manuel Baigorri in Hong Kong at mbaigorri@bloomberg.net;Daniele Lepido in Milan at dlepido1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dinesh Nair at dnair5@bloomberg.net, ;Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Thomas Mulier, Amy Thomson
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