SMITHFIELD – FGX International Holdings Ltd. shareholders voted Tuesday to approve the company’s acquisition by Essilor International SA, the world’s largest maker of eyeglass lenses, according to a Securities & Exchange Commission filing.
FGX will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Essilor once the merger is completed, which is expected to happen by the end of this week.
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FGX announced Dec. 15 that its board had approved a bid by Charenton-le-Pont, France-based Essilor to acquire the company for $565 million. Essilor will pay $19.75 for each FGX share and pay off $100 million in debt owed by the local company.
FGX will be a stand-alone business unit of Essilor and its headquarters will remain in Smithfield, the two companies said in December. FGX will also keep its offices in California, Toronto, England, New York City, Mexico and China. The company had about 500 full-time and 2,500 part-time employees at the start of this year, according to Securities & Exchange Commission filings.
FGX CEO Alec Taylor will remain in place along with the rest of the local company’s current management team.
FGX traces its roots back to 1919, when the company was founded by Sam Foster as Foster Grant to sell women’s hair accessories. The company began selling its well-known FosterGrant eyeglasses a decade later. It began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange after its initial public offering in 2007.
FGX’s largest customers today are Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. The company is in the process of consolidating operations at its 187,000-square-foot headquarters in Smithfield following its decision to close a California facility last year.
Additional information is available at fgxi.com.
