PARIS: French lensmaker Essilor has agreed to buy Italy’s Luxottica, maker of Ray-Ban sunglasses, in a bid to create a new global giant in the sector, the two groups announced Monday.
Shares in Essilor, the world leader in corrective lenses, surged by nearly 14 percent on the Paris stock exchange and Luxottica shares were up 7.6 percent in Milan on the news as of 1000 GMT.
The combined group will have market capitalization of around €46.2 billion ($49 billion), based on both companies’ closing share prices on Friday.
Under the terms of the transaction, the family of Leonard Del Vecchio, Luxottica founder and chief executive, will hand over his stake to Essilor, which will then launch a public bid to buy the remaining shares.
Del Vecchio, 81, controls a 62 percent stake via holding company Delfin.
“Finally, two products which are naturally complementary, namely frames and lenses, will be designed, manufactured and distributed under the same roof,” Del Vecchio said.
“With this agreement my dream to create a major global player in the eyewear industry, fully integrated and excellent in all its parts, comes finally true.”
The combined group, to be known as EssilorLuxottica, will have annual sales of more than €15 billion and employ a workforce of 140,000 worldwide.
Brian, Garnier & Co. analysts called the merger “a perfect fit... as both groups are leading their respective categories” of lenses and frames.
But they said the new group “might face anti-trust barriers since it would become a ‘hegemonic supplier’ for many independent opticians.”
Del Vecchio will become chief executive of the new group and Essilor head Hubert Sagnieres his deputy, with “the same powers,” a joint statement said.
The boards of directors of both companies have approved the transaction.
The deal still needs to receive the necessary regulatory approval, but is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.
Del Vecchio returned to the helm in January 2016 after two years of management turmoil sparked by a falling out with his right-hand man Andrea Guerra, who quit in 2014.
“Leonardo Del Vecchio’s inability to find a successor probably weighed heavily on this idea of coming together” with Essilor, said a strategist at the French brokerage firm Aurel BGC.
“The idea... has been around a long time, and though not on everyone’s mind recently, and is now bearing fruit,” he added.
In addition to Ray-Ban, Luxottica owns the Oakley and Sunglass Hut brands and generates annual sales of around €9 billion. Essilor booked sales of just over €6.7 billion in 2015.
Essilor’s Sagnieres said: “Our project has one simple motivation: To better respond to the needs of an immense global population in vision correction and vision protection.”
The group is to be headquartered in France, at Essilor’s location in Charenton southeast of Paris, Sagnieres said, without detailing which sites may be shut down.
Ray-Ban maker agrees $49bn merger
Ray-Ban maker agrees $49bn merger
Saudi Arabia leads outcome-based education to prepare future-ready generations: Harvard Business Review
- The Riyadh-based school group developed a strategy that links every classroom activity to measurable student competencies, aiming to graduate learners equipped for the digital economy and real-world contexts
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s education system is undergoing a sweeping transformation aligned with Vision 2030, shifting from traditional, input-focused methods to outcome-based education designed to equip students with future-ready skills, Harvard Business Review Arabic reported.
The transformation is being adopted and spearheaded by institutions such as Al-Nobala Private Schools, which introduced the Kingdom’s first national “learning outcomes framework,” aimed at preparing a generation of leaders and innovators for an AI-driven future, the report said.
Al-Nobala has leveraged international expertise to localize advanced learning methodologies.
The Riyadh-based school group developed a strategy that links every classroom activity to measurable student competencies, aiming to graduate learners equipped for the digital economy and real-world contexts. The school’s group approach combines traditional values with 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, communication, innovation and digital fluency.
According to the report, the shift addresses the growing gap between outdated models built for low-tech, resource-constrained environments and today’s dynamic world, where learners must navigate real-time information, virtual platforms, and smart technologies.
“This is not just about teaching content, it’s about creating impact,” the report noted, citing how Al-Nobala’s model prepares students to thrive in an AI-driven world while aligning with national priorities.
The report noted that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education has paved the way for this shift by transitioning from a centralized controller to a strategic enabler, allowing schools such as Al-Nobala to tailor their curriculum to meet evolving market and societal needs. This is part of the long-term goal to place the Kingdom among the top 20 global education systems.
Al-Nobala’s work, the report stated, has succeeded in serving the broader national effort to link education outcomes directly to labor market demands, helping to fulfill the Vision 2030 pillar of building a vibrant society with a thriving economy driven by knowledge and innovation.
Last February, Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan, Saudi Arabia’s minister of education, said that the Kingdom was making “an unprecedented investment in education,” with spending aligned to the needs of growth and development. He said that in 2025, education received the second-largest share of the state budget, totaling $53.5 billion.
