EssilorLuxottica has announced it now holds an almost 100% stake in GrandVision after the completion of a mandatory public offer period, opening the door to delist shares in the optical retailer on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
In a statement on 6 December, the Franco-Italian eyewear giant said it has completed the acceptance period for GrandVision shareholders to tender their shares, resulting in EssilorLuxottica obtaining an additional 13.06% of the outstanding GrandVision shares.
In addition to shares EssilorLuxottica secured in the original acquisition of a majority stake held by the Dutch investment firm HAL Holding, EssilorLuxottica now holds a total interest of 99.73%.
The GrandVision takeover is set to see EssilorLuxottica drastically increase its retail footprint by around 7,000 stores across 40 countries, and an additional 37,000 staff.
Although not linked to the deal, in Australia and New Zealand Luxottica operates under four retail banners: OPSM and Laubman & Pank (optical), Sunglass Hut (a dedicated sunglasses business), and Oakley (sunglasses, apparel, fashion and accessories). It has more than 600 storefronts, 300 head office employees and more than 4,500 store staff.
With EssilorLuxottica now holding more than a 95% interest in GrandVision, it revealed it now intends to delist the shares on Euronext Amsterdam “as soon as possible under the applicable rules”.
In the meantime, remaining GrandVision shareholders who have not tendered their shares during the acceptance period will have the opportunity to tender their shares under the same terms until 20 December 2021.
“These steps [to delist] are likely to have significant consequences for shareholders who do not tender their shares under the offer,” EssilorLuxottica stated.
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