[导读：2018年3月1日，2018年3月1日，欧盟、美国反垄断监管机构批准了全球最大眼镜制造商——意大利Luxottica公司与全球最大光学镜片制造商——法国Essilor公司高达480亿欧元规模的合并交易。Luxottica目前拥有Ray-Ban 、Oakley和Persol等自有眼镜品牌以及Lenscrafter和Sunglass Hut两大全球连锁零售商，同时也为Chanel、Armani、Prada、Burberry、Dolce & Gabbana、Michael Kors、Coach等奢侈和高级品牌制造及分销眼镜产品。2017年1月，Luxottica与Essilor达成合并协议。除欧盟和美国的批准外，此前，该笔交易已经获得智利、加拿大、墨西哥、巴西等国的批准，目前尚需等待中国反垄断监管机构的批准。（本文源自路透社网站。）]

PARIS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European and U.S. competition regulators on Thursday approved the 48-billion-euro (42.49 billion pounds) merger of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica and French lens manufacturer Essilor, sending shares in both companies higher.

The proposed tie-up between Luxottica, which owns brands including Ray-Ban and Oakley, and Essilor, which sells lenses under the Varilux brand, is aimed at taking advantage of expected strong demand for prescription spectacles and sunglasses as populations age globally.

“We’ve received feedback from nearly 4,000 opticians in a market test in Europe that Essilor and Luxottica would not gain market power to harm competition,” EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said, approving the deal without conditions.

The Federal Trade Commission in the United States gave its green light soon after.

Essilor shares closed up 5.3 percent. The announcements came hours after the world’s largest maker of ophthalmic lenses reported higher sales but weaker profit margins. 

Reuters reported in December that the deal would be cleared by the European Union. The approvals from Brussels and Washington mean Essilor and Luxottica are now waiting for the go-ahead from regulators in China.

Rivals and some opticians have voiced concern that the merged entity might persuade opticians to buy eye wear and lenses as a package.

Speaking earlier about progress towards the merger, Essilor’s Chief Operating Officer Laurent Vacherot said:“We are serene,” repeating that the deal was expected to close in the first half of 2018.