UK competition authority clears EssilorLuxottica’s acquisition of Lenstec

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared EssilorLuxottica’s proposed acquisition of the Lenstec Optical Group.

The approval means the company can move forward with its plans to acquire the business shareholding from owners Nigel Castle and Gerard Donovan.

Essilor acquired a minority stake in Lenstec through Shamir in 2016, and confirmed its plans to acquire the remainder earlier this year. 

The CMA opened the merger inquiry in August, considering whether the merger might result in reduced competition within the market in the UK, and announced its clearance decision on 12 October.

Welcoming the decision, Chrystel Barranger, president of wholesale EMEA at EssilorLuxottica, said the companies would now be able to “progress towards reinforcing our partnership,” suggesting that this would improve the access of British consumers to EssilorLuxottica’s product offering.

Lenstec operates three sites in the UK and saw a turnover of £22 million in 2019.

Castle, who is Lenstec’s managing director, also commented: “We are excited to continue our journey within EssilorLuxottica. This partnership allows us to both strengthen and extend our products and service offering to our valued customers, whilst retaining the same customer intimacy, service and solutions our customers have come to expect.”

The acquisition is expected to close this year.