ROME (Reuters) - The Italian antitrust authority said on Friday it had opened a probe into Luxottica's (MI:LUX) acquisition of top sun lens maker Barberini.
Luxottica , the world's largest spectacles manufacturer, completed this week its merger with France's Essilor (PA:ESSI), the biggest lens maker globally.
The Italian group in June announced it had bought Barberini, the world's top manufacturer of optical glass sun lenses, in a 140 million euro ($161 million) deal.
The antitrust said in a document on its website EssilorLuxottica and Barberini would control 65-70 percent of the Italian sunglasses market.
"Barberini's positioning ... leads one to believe that such a concentration could significantly hamper competition ... creating or strengthening a dominant position," it said.
Luxottica had no immediate comment.