The Italian antitrust authority says it has opened a probe into Luxottica’s acquisition of lens maker Barberini, saying on its website EssilorLuxottica and Barberini would control 65% to 70% of the Italian sunglasses market and between 40 and 45% in the European Economic Area.
The Italian antitrust authorities said they want to look into "the effects of the merger, knowing that the acquisition of Barberini will strengthen Luxottica's position as the only vertically integrated operator present at all levels of the production chain up to the point of sale of glasses to the consumer" and that Barberini’s positioning “leads one to believe that such a concentration could significantly hamper competition ... creating or strengthening a dominant position.”
Luxottica recently completed its merger with France’s Essilor, receiving the green light from the European Commission after intense scrutiny by the European Union’s antitrust authorities.
The Italian group in June also announced it had bought Barberini, which manufactures optical glass sun lenses, in a 140 million euro ($244 million) deal.
