The Salmoiraghi&Viganò brand, which covers a share of the Italian market of around 9%, changes hands, but remains in Italy. The Luxottica group, in fact, has closed the agreement with the Tabacchi family, owner of the eyewear chain, for an initial 40% stake, destined to rise in the next few years. Now only the official announcement of the companies is awaited, expected by the weekend.
To win, Luxottica had to beat a strong competition, among which the Dutch group Hal stood out, which had already competed against Leonardo Del Vecchio's company with the American Cole National and Safilo.
For Luxottica, this investment in stores on Italian soil represents a first time. The group is in fact the leader in the USA, but, before today, it had never invested in large-scale distribution in Europe. Salmoiraghi&Viganò was valued at 200 million euros, including 100 million of the debt, which is why, to date, the outlay by Del Vecchio is limited to 40 million.
This staggered purchase is also explained by the need to circumvent the limits imposed by the antitrust. Indeed, in the coming years, with the market expanding and other operators gaining new shares, Luxottica will have a less dominant position which will allow it to finalize the acquisition.
In the afternoon, Luxottica shares gained 0,43% to 30,6 euros per share.
