Statement of Federal Trade Commission Concerning the Proposed Acquisition of Luxottica Group by Essilor

The Federal Trade Commission issued a statement on its vote to close the investigation of the proposed merger of European eyewear makers Essilor and Luxottica Group.

According to the statement, the evidence did not support a conclusion that Essilor’s proposed acquisition of Luxottica violates federal antitrust laws:

“FTC staff extensively investigated every plausible theory and used aggressive assumptions to assess the likelihood of competitive harm. The investigation exhaustively examined information provided by a wide and deep swath of market participants, as well as the parties’ own documents and data. Assessing the likely competitive effects of a proposed transaction is a fact-specific exercise that takes into account the current market dynamics, which may be different in the future. Here, however, the evidence did not support a conclusion that Essilor’s proposed acquisition of Luxottica may be substantially to lessen competition in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.”

The Commission vote to close the investigation and issue the closing statement was 2-0. (FTC File No. 171-0060)