BUSINESS: Retailers EssilorLuxottica and GrandVision Agree to Sell Stores in The Netherlands and Belgium to MPG Austria’s ORIG BENE Group By Staff Tuesday, December 28, 2021 12:24 AM CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France and SCHIPHOL, the Netherlands—EssilorLuxottica, GrandVision and the Optic Retail International Group BENE, a member of MPG Austria (ORIG/MPG), announced late last week that they have entered into an agreement for ORIG/MPG to acquire 142 EyeWish stores in the Netherlands and 35 GrandOptical stores in Belgium. This follows the commitments agreed upon with the European Commission on March 23, 2021, as part of the acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica, the announcement noted.EssilorLuxottica in July acquired approximately 77 percent of GrandVision from HAL Optical Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of HAL Holding, as VMAIL reported. The deal was valued at about $8.7 billion. GrandVision is the parent of the For Eyes optical retail group in the U.S. The agreement last week among EssilorLuxottica, GrandVision and ORIG/MPG provides for transitional agreements to support the business continuity of the divested perimeters following the implementation of the transaction. Completion of the transaction among EssilorLuxottica, GrandVision and ORIG/MPG is subject to the approval of the European Commission, as part of the commitments’ procedure, the announcement noted. The transaction is expected to close in next year’s first quarter. The advisors to EssilorLuxottica and GrandVision on the transaction were Mediobanca - Banca di Credito Finanziario, and Lazard acted as financial advisors, Sullivan & Cromwell and Stibbe served as M&A legal advisors, BonelliErede as antitrust advisor and IG&H and Deloitte Finance as carve-out advisors. Additionally, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek continued to support GrandVision as legal advisor. Advisors to ORIG/MPG were mk05 as M&A and financial advisor, Loyens & Loeff as M&A legal counsel and MPG as due diligence and commercial support.