EU regulators probe Essilor, Luxottica merger plan................................

[Chris Ryser]

EU regulators probe Essilor, Luxottica merger plan


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, BRUSSELS — Sep 26, 2017, 11:09 AM ET

European Union antitrust regulators are probing the planned merger between eyewear maker Luxottica and lens manufacturer Essilor amid concerns the move could stifle competition.

The European Commission, which polices EU competition rules, said Tuesday it "has concerns that the merger may reduce competition for ophthalmic lenses."

France-based Essilor is the largest supplier of ophthalmiclenses world-wide. Italy'sLuxottica is the top eyewear supplier, with brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley.
Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that with halfof Europeans using glasses the EU must "carefully assess whether theproposed merger would lead to higher prices or reduced choices for opticiansand ultimately consumers."

The concern is that the two could use Luxottica's powerfulbrands to convince opticians to buy Essilor lenses and exclude other lenssuppliers from the market.

Source:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/...-plan-50102344

[Chris Ryser]

New Release: Further progress in the proposed combination between Essilor and Luxottica

September 26, 2017 12:16 ET | Source: Essilor International


Further progress in the proposed combination
between Essilor and Luxottica

Charenton-le-Pont, France and Milan, Italy,September 26, 2017 -

Essilor and Luxottica today confirm that the European Commission has initiated a Phase II review of their proposed combination as expected given the size of the parties. Both companies are confident that Phase II will be completed in a timely manner and will closely cooperate with the European Commission to fully demonstrate the rationale of the proposed combination and the benefits that it will bring to customers, consumers and all the eyewear industry players.

The companies reaffirm the objective to close the transaction around the end ofthe year, in cooperation with the relevant authorities. The transaction has been unconditionally cleared so far in Russia,India, Colombia, Japan,Morocco, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea.

§

_{As announced on January 16, 2017, Essilor and Delfin, the majority shareholder of Luxottica Group, signed an agreement designed to create an integrated global player in the eyewear industry with the combination of Essilor and Luxottica.}

Source:
https://globenewswire.com/news-relea...Luxottica.html

[Lab Insight]

New Release: Further progress in the proposed combination between Essilor and Luxottica

September 26, 2017 12:16 ET | Source: Essilor International


Further progress in the proposed combination
between Essilor and Luxottica

Charenton-le-Pont, France and Milan, Italy,September 26, 2017 -

Essilor and Luxottica today confirm that the European Commission has initiated a Phase II review of their proposed combination as expected given the size of the parties. Both companies are confident that Phase II will be completed in a timely manner and will closely cooperate with the European Commission to fully demonstrate the rationale of the proposed combination and the benefits that it will bring to customers, consumers and all the eyewear industry players.

The companies reaffirm the objective to close the transaction around the end ofthe year, in cooperation with the relevant authorities. The transaction has been unconditionally cleared so far in Russia,India, Colombia, Japan,Morocco, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea.

§

_{As announced on January 16, 2017, Essilor and Delfin, the majority shareholder of Luxottica Group, signed an agreement designed to create an integrated global player in the eyewear industry with the combination of Essilor and Luxottica.}

Source:
https://globenewswire.com/news-relea...Luxottica.html

Hope the potential merger gets nixed.

[Robert Martellaro]

The latest Last Week Tonight (John Oliver/HBO) theme was about corporate consolidation. Check out the bit about the Oakley and Luxottica "merger".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wQYmvfhn4

[Chris Ryser]

Both companies are confident that Phase II will be completed in a timely manner and will closely cooperate with the European Commission to fully demonstrate the rationale of the proposed combination and the benefits that it will bring to customers, consumers and all the eyewear industry players.

1) Essilor employs, and detects and uses top talent in every business angle you can think of.

2) No major decision is made without deep and thorough planning.

3) They are playing the world optical market from all sides:

a) by being a manufacturer that is active and leading in every product they make.

b) by serving the conventional optical retail market with their top rated products.

c) by being the most single owner of the largest set of on-line optical companies on a worldwide basis, which will nearly double after the merger.


This way they will never lose business. If business shifts eventually towards the on-line opticals they will be the winner, as well as if it does not.

[King of the Lab]

I am attending an Essilor dinner next week that is apparently meant to explain such merger to eye care providers. I am only going because it is a 3 course meal and at one of my favorite brewing companies. Learning about the merger is just a bonus.

[mervinek]

I am attending an Essilor dinner next week that is apparently meant to explain such merger to eye care providers. I am only going because it is a 3 course meal and at one of my favorite brewing companies. Learning about the merger is just a bonus.

Please let us know what you learn!

[King of the Lab]

Please let us know what you learn!

Absolutely!

[Uilleann]

If the dinner is anything like ours was here, it's MUCH more about the new X PAL lens, and their package "deals" with Sapphire, Transitions, and a "free" 2nd pair (until you get your lab bill for the first one of course) - rather than much at all about the merger. There will be glowing talk of how wonderful it will be of course, with few specifics. You may also have very angry ODs at the table who complain about the poor reimbursements from EyeMed, but at least in our case, the regional rep they had out just glossed over that as it wasn't what he was told to come speak about.

Maybe your dinner will be different.

Drink lots. It helps. :)

[Chris Ryser]

EU Commission opens in-depth investigation into Essilor and Luxottica merger

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into a proposed merger between French lens manufacturer Essilor and Italian eyewear company Luxottica.
27 Sep 2017

· EU and UK competition law
· EU & Competition
· UK
· Europe
· Germany
· France

An in-depth investigation is opened when the Commission has concerns that a transaction could restrict competition in the internal market and the parties have not offered satisfactory commitments resolve those concerns.
The Commission will investigate the effect of the merger on the market for ophthalmic lenses and eyewear, it said.

The companies are leaders in the optical industry, the Commission said. Essilor is the largest supplier of ophthalmic lenses, both worldwide and in Europe, while Luxottica is the largest supplier of eyewear worldwide and in Europe. Both companies sell their products to opticians who then sell finished spectacles and sunglasses to consumers.


The Commission is concerned that the merged entity could use Luxottica's brands to convince opticians to buy Essilor Lenses and exclude other lens suppliers from the markets, through practices such as bundling or tying, it said. This could limit purchase choices or increase prices.


The investigation will also look at whether the merged company would use Essilor's strength in ophthalmic lenses to exclude rival eyewear suppliers from the markets, and whether the merger would remove emerging competition from Luxottica in lenses and from Essilor in eyewear.


Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,in charge of competition policy, said: "Half of Europeans wear glasses and almost all of us will need vision correction one day. Therefore we need to carefully assess whether the proposed merger would lead to higher prices or reduced choices for opticians and ultimately consumers".

source:

https://www.out-law.com/en/articles/...ottica-merger-

[Lab Insight]

The latest Last Week Tonight (John Oliver/HBO) theme was about corporate consolidation. Check out the bit about the Oakley and Luxottica "merger".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wQYmvfhn4

What a fantastic bit! How true. And so smug about it all.

[Grubendol]

The latest Last Week Tonight (John Oliver/HBO) theme was about corporate consolidation. Check out the bit about the Oakley and Luxottica "merger".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wQYmvfhn4

Some of the info from that 60 minutes piece he quoted is essentially wrong and painted a not-so-accurate view of the optical industry but the overarching theme of consolidation=bad is spot on. I hope this gets killed too.

[Chris Ryser]

...............and here is the British version


COMPETITION CONCERNS RAISED OVER ESSILOR AND LUXOTTICA DEAL

The proposed deal is subject to further investigation by the European Commission

28 Sep 2017 by Andrew McClean


The European Commission has initiated a phase two review of the proposed £40 billion (€46bn) Essilor and Luxottica merger.

A phase two review is opened when the European Commission has concerns that the transaction could restrict competition in the internal market.

Essilor and Luxottica said they will both fully cooperate with the European Commission to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed deal for customers and the wider eyewear industry.

The companies aim to complete the deal by the end of the year, and it has so far been unconditionally cleared in Russia, India, Columbia, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and South Korea.

The European Commission has 90 working days to make a decision on the transaction at which stage it will either unconditionally clear the merger, approve it subject to remedies, or prohibit the deal.

source:
https://www.aop.org.uk/ot/industry/e...luxottica-deal

[Chris Ryser]

The latest Last Week Tonight (John Oliver/HBO) theme was about corporate consolidation. Check out the bit about the Oakley and Luxottica "merger".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00wQYmvfhn4

This video is not available.

[Robert Martellaro]

What a fantastic bit! How true. And so smug about it all.

A mild mannered Bond villain!

Some of the info from that 60 minutes piece he quoted is essentially wrong and painted a not-so-accurate view of the optical industry but the overarching theme of consolidation=bad is spot on. I hope this gets killed too.

Yup, look what they did to Audi, and others. I still have clients tell me that "some company" owns 80% of the US eyeglass market (as seen on 60 minutes).

This video is not available.

No, no, mi scusi, lei si sbaglia.

[Chris Ryser]

Placing Essilor International Société Anonyme(ENXTPA:EI)’s Valuation Under Review

September29, 2017 Newswire

Essilor International Société Anonyme (ENXTPA:EI) has an ERP5 rank of 3301. The ERP5 Rank is an investment tool that analysts use to discover undervalued companies. It looks at the stock’s Price to Book ratio, Earnings Yield, ROIC and 5 year average ROIC. The lower the rank, the more undervalued a company is considered to be.

see all of it:

https://www.concordregister.com/plac...n-under-review

[Chris Ryser]

EU launches full-scale probe into $54B Essilor-Luxottica merger

SEPTEMBER 29, 2017 BY SARAH FAULKNER


The European Commission plans to investigate whether the €46 billion merger of Luxottica (NYSE:LUX)and Essilor (EPA:EI) could drive competitors away from the market or hike prices, according to Reuters.

The companies hold high-ranking positions in the ophthalmic lens and eyewear industries. Earlier This month, Luxottica and Essilor decided not to offer concessions in a preliminary review by antitrust authorities.

The agency said it plans to decide whether to clear the deal or not by February next year, but the two companies said they hope to close the merger at the end of this year.

See all ofit:
http://www.massdevice.com/eu-launche...uxotica-merger