Luxottica, parent company of Oakley, Ray-Ban and many other brands of sunglasses, has agreed to merge with Essilor, the world's largest supplier of ophthalmic lenses in an all-stock deal that values the Italian company at €22.8 billion. The combined company will have market capitalization of more than €50 billion and revenues of over €15 billion a year. Leonardo Del Vecchio, the 81-year-old founder and chief executive of Luxottica, will become the biggest shareholder of Essilor Luxottica, with a stake of more than 31 percent, and he will take up the top job. Hubert Sagnières, CEO of Essilor, will serve as deputy CEO and executive vice president. As Essilor has recently acquired sunglass brands such as Costa, some analysts expect possible anti-trust problems. More in Eyewear Intelligence.

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