Essilor Finalizes Acquisition of Costa Inc.

Regulatory News :

Essilor International (Paris:EI) today announced that it has finalized the acquisition of all outstanding shares of Costa Inc., a US leader in high-performance sunglasses.

The transaction, announced on November 8, 2013, was approved by Costa Inc. shareholders in the special meeting of shareholders held on January 30, 2014. It has also received all required regulatory approvals. Costa Inc. shares have ceased to be publicly traded on Nasdaq.

Based in Lincoln, Rhode Island (USA), Costa Inc. designs, assembles and markets sunglasses under the Costa^® and Native^® brands. Costa^® has become the fastest growing performance sunglass brand in the United States. Costa Inc. generated revenue of nearly $100 million in 2013.

"This acquisition, along with our partnership with Xiamen Yarui in China, marks a new step forward in the Group’s sun lens strategy,” commented Hubert Sagnières, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Essilor. "Together, we will develop solutions to raise the bar on sun lens performance in terms of optics, protection and comfort. This focus on innovation, which is an integral part of our mission to improve visual health, will benefit both consumers and the entire industry.”

Essilor will consolidate its interest in Costa Inc. on February 1^st, 2014. Based on current estimates and excluding the impact of the one-time transaction related costs, the acquisition will be accretive to Essilor's earnings per share in 2014.

About Essilor
The world’s leading ophthalmic optics company, Essilor designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of lenses to improve and protect eyesight. Its corporate mission is to enable everyone around the world to access lenses that meet his or her unique vision requirements. To support this mission, the Company allocates more than €150 million to research and innovation every year, in a commitment to continuously bring new, more effective products to market. Essilor’s flagship brands are Varilux^®, Crizal^®, Definity^®, Xperio^®, Optifog™ and Foster Grant^®. It also develops and markets equipment, instruments and services for eyecare professionals.
Essilor reported consolidated revenue of more than €5 billion in 2013 and employs more than 50,000 people. It operates in some 100 countries with 22 plants, more than 400 prescription laboratories and edging facilities, as well as several research and development centers around the world.
For more information, please visit www.essilor.com.
The Essilor share trades on the NYSE Euronext Paris market and is included in the Euro Stoxx 50 and CAC 40 indices.
Codes and symbols: ISIN: FR0000121667; Reuters: ESSI.PA; Bloomberg: EI:FP.