(Reuters) -France’s LVMH has reached an agreement with Italian group Marcolin to buy a 49% stake in Thelios, increasing its holding in the upscale Italian eyewear manufacturer for labels including Dior, Fendi and Celine.
Marcolin will also buy back the 10% stake LVMH acquired in the firm when Thelios was founded in 2017, the companies said in a joint statement.
The move reflects interest in European luxury companies in bulking up and tightnening their grip on production capacity, as business bounces back strongly from pandemic disruptions following a resumption in social activities.
French rival Kering also recently reinforced its eyewear business, announcing plans to purchase upscale Danish label Lindberg in July. The Gucci owner began building an in-house eyewear division in 2014, reaching almost 600 million euros ($678.42 million) in wholesale revenues in 2019.
($1 = 0.8844 euros)
(Reporting by Juliette Portala and Mimosa Spencer; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
