EssilorLuxottica may appeal court verdict over GrandVision

PARIS (Reuters) - Spectacles maker EssilorLuxottica <ESLX.PA> said on Tuesday that it may appeal against an earlier court verdict regarding its planned takeover target GrandVision <GVNV.AS>, after it lost a Dutch court case which could jeopardise the deal.

On Monday, the Rotterdam district court said EssilorLuxottica had failed to prove its claim that Dutch company GrandVision had breached a takeover agreement by not asking permission for actions it took as lockdowns to combat COVID-19 extended throughout Europe.

"EssilorLuxottica is studying the judgment and assessing its options, including the possibility of filing an appeal against the judgment," EssilorLuxottica said in a statement.

"The company remains concerned about GrandVision’s behavior in continuing to deny access to important information related to their handling of the COVID-19 outbreak," added EssilorLuxottica.

EssilorLuxottica, whose brands include Ray-Ban and Oakley, had told the court hearing that GrandVision's decisions to suspend payments to store owners and suppliers and to apply for state aid could give grounds for ending its proposed 7.2 billion euro ($8.50 billion) takeover of the company.

However, the court said EssilorLuxottica had failed to prove this claim, while GrandVision said it had always informed EssilorLuxottica about its actions.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Kim Coghill)