CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France,
April 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --
Following approval by the US competition authorities, Essilor has
completed its acquisition of Signet Armorlite, a leading
independent manufacturer of ophthalmic lenses. Based in
California, Signet Armorlite, Inc.
generates a global revenue of approximately $115 million, primarily through its subsidiaries
in the United States, the
United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Columbia, Portugal and Holland.
Holding an exclusive worldwide license for the development,
production and distribution of Kodak(R) brand lenses, Signet
Armorlite markets a product portfolio that is strategically aligned
with Essilor's offering. The acquisition will enable Essilor to
strengthen its positions in the high-quality mid-range segment.
Operated independently by the current management team, Signet
Armorlite will leverage Essilor's distribution network to promote
the Kodak(R) brand and reach new customers and consumers around the
world.
"The acquisition of Signet Armorlite illustrates Essilor's
strategy of offering product and service lineups tailored to each
segment of the ophthalmic optics market," said Hubert Sagnières,
Chief Executive Officer of Essilor International. "We're going to
capitalize on our Company's size as well as its extensive research
and development capabilities to increase the opportunities for the
Kodak brand in the international ophthalmic marketplace."
"We see excellent synergies between the strength of our Kodak
brand and Essilor's leading position in the worldwide ophthalmic
market," said Brad Kruchten,
president of Kodak's Film, Photofinishing and Entertainment Group.
"We are confident that this combination will insure the Kodak brand
has a substantial position in vision care moving forward."
The world leader in ophthalmic optical products, Essilor International
researches, develops, manufactures and markets around the world a wide
range of lenses to correct myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism.
Its flagship brands are Varilux(R), Crizal(R), Essilor(R), Definity(R)
and Xperio(TM).
Based in France, the company reported consolidated revenue of more than
EUR3.2 billion in 2009, with 34,700 employees and operations in 100
countries.
For more information, please visit http://www.essilor.com.
The Essilor share trades on the NYSE Euronext Paris market and is
Included in the CAC 40 index.
Codes and symbols: ISIN: FR FR0000121667; Reuters: ESSI.PA; Bloomberg:
EI:FP.
Investor Relations and Financial Communications, Véronique
Gillet - Sébastien Leroy, Phone: +33(0)1-49-77-42-16
http://www.essilor.com