EssilorLuxottica’s GrandVision acquisition approved

EssilorLuxottica’s acquisition of GrandVision has been approved by the European Commission (EC) after its review was delayed by the pandemic.

In July, 2019, EssilorLuxottica acquired HAL Holdings’ 76.72% interest in global eye care retailer GrandVision with a €7.1bn
valuation.

It was initially thought that the acquisition of GrandVision would expand EssilorLuxottica’s optical retail platform, primarily in Europe, by adding more than 7,200 stores globally, an extra 37,000 employees and additional €3.7bn in annual revenue.

However, clearance was conditional to the divestment of approximately 350 optical retail businesses across Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.

In Belgium, 35 GrandVision stores would be sold to a buyer who would rebrand and in the Netherlands a total of 142 EyeWish sites would be sold with the brand name.