Ray-Ban sunglasses. Credit: Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg

Linklaters, Herbert Smith Freehills and Hogan Lovells have picked up the lead roles as eyewear brand EssilorLuxottica acquires key competitor GrandVision in a deal worth about €8 billion.

The deal brings French/Italian EssilorLuxottica, whose brands include Oakley and Ray-Ban, an extra 7,200 stores across the world, 37,000 additional employees and €3.7 billion more in annual sales.

HSF is advising EssilorLuxottica on the financing of the transaction, with a Paris team including corporate partner Louis Longeaux and tax partner Bruno Knadjian. Lawyers from Dutch firm Stibbe, which had an alliance with HSF between 2002 and 2011, advised on Dutch law aspects of the deal.

Meanwhile, Linklaters is representing the target GrandVision, with Paris partner Pierre Zelenko leading the team, a person at the firm said. According to the company's press release, Dutch powerhouse De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek is also an adviser.

Paris-headquartered EssilorLuxottica currently achieves about €16 billion in annual sales. It is a member of both the CAC 40 share index, comprised of the 40 largest companies traded on the Paris Stock Exchange, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index, made up of the 50 largest companies in the eurozone.

Hogan Lovells is advising the banks lending to EssilorLuxottica to finance the transaction, according to people at the firm, with a Paris-based team including partners Michel Quéré and Ludovic Geneston. The firm also fielded a team in Amsterdam, led by partners Wouter Jongen and Anton Louwinger.

Local Dutch firm NautaDutilh acted for HAL, which is selling its 77% stake in GrandVision.

EssilorLuxottica was formed in 2017 from the merger of Italian sunglasses business Luxottica and French lens-maker Essilor. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton advised Essilor on this deal, while Italian firm BonelliErede and French firm Bredin Prat worked with Luxembourg-based holding company Delfin, which controlled Luxottica at that time.

The value of the merger between Essilor and Luxottica meant that it required competition clearance from the EU Commission, which took more than six months to consider the deal before giving its approval in March 2018. The completion of the deal is still subject to a number of regulatory conditions.