Essilorluxottica disposal of 177 optical retail stores to Orig Bene
Mediobanca assisted Essilorluxottica in the disposal of 177 optical retail stores located in the Netherlands and Belgium to Orig Bene, a member of MPG Austria
On December 23rd, 2021, EssilorLuxottica SA (“Essilor Luxottica”) and GrandVision NV (“Grandvision” and together with EssilorLuxottica, the “Sellers”) signed an agreement with ORIG BENE BV, a member of MPG Austria, for the divestment of (i) 142 EyeWish stores in the Netherlands including the banner and (ii) the 35 GrandOptical stores in Belgium excluding the banner (the “BENE Business”) (the “Transaction”).
The Transaction was one of the conditions to the EC clearance of EssilorLuxottica acquisition of GrandVision. In particular, on March 23rd 2021, the EC approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica subject to full compliance with the divestment commitments offered by EssilorLuxottica in order to address EC competition concerns (the “Remedies Package”).
With the Remedies Package, EssilorLuxottica committed to divest a portion of the combined entity optical retail including (i) the BENE Business and (ii) VistaSì optical retail chain in Italy with its 99 stores including the banner as well as 75 GrandVision stores in Italy excluding the banner (together the “ITA Business”).
EssilorLuxottica, listed on the EuronextParis Stock Exchange with a market cap. of c.€80bn, is a fully-integrated eyewear player, global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses:
GrandVision is a global leader in optical retail with over 7,200 stores in over 40 countries.
ORIG BENE BV is a newly-incorporated vehicle co-invested by Dr. Michael Pachleitner Private Foundation and Reiffeisen Invest Private Equity Group. Dr. Michael Pachleitner Private Foundation is the parent company of MPG, Austrian eyewear company active in lens and frames production and wholesale and expanding in the optical and acoustics retail market with currently 110 stores in Germany and Denmark.
Mediobanca acted as leading financial advisor to the Sellers, providing support through all phases of the transaction. The mandate is the result of the strong and long-lasting relationship with the M&A team of EssilorLuxottica, the intense origination efforts and the proven ability to manage complex transactions involving multiple assets and regulatory authorities.