CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France—EssilorLuxottica SA (Reuters: ESLX:PA) and GrandVision NV (EURONEXT: GVNV) said Thursday that the European Commission has initiated a Phase II review of the proposed acquisition of GrandVision by EssilorLuxottica. “The parties are confident that Phase II will be completed in a timely manner and [that they] will closely cooperate with the European Commission to fully demonstrate the rationale of the proposed acquisition and the benefits that it will bring to customers, consumers and all the eyewear industry players,” the statement noted.

In addition, the companies said they are reaffirming “the shared objective” to close the proposed transaction within the 12- to 24-month time frame set out at the time of the deal’s announcement (July 31, 2019) in cooperation with the relevant authorities.

The transaction has been unconditionally cleared so far in the U.S., Russia and Colombia, and it is currently under review also in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Turkey, the announcement stated.

Further announcements will be made “if and when required,” the announcement stated.

In mid-2019, EssilorLuxottica announced that it had reached an agreement with Hal Optical Investments B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of HAL Holding NV, to acquire HAL’s controlling interest in GrandVision in a deal analysts valued at €7.1billion at the time, as VMAIL reported. 

GrandVision, which owns the For Eyes optical business in the U.S. market, is viewed as a global optical retail powerhouse, with more than 7,200 stores, 37,000 employees and about €3.7 billion in annual revenue.