Luxottica and Essilor merge

(ANSA) - Milan, January 16 - Italy's Luxottica and France's Essilor on Monday announced they have agreed on a 50-billion-euro merger deal to create an eyewear giant with over 140,000 employees and sales in some 150 countries.
    Luxottica, the world's leading spectacles maker, and Essilor, the top manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses, would have jointly reported net earnings of over 15 billion euros, based on 2015 annual results posted by the two companies, and a net combined operating profit EBITDA of about 3.5 billion euros.