CHARENTON-LE-PONT, France, January 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Essilor, the world leader in ophthalmic optics, is pursuing expansion in India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China-all markets with high growth potential-while continuing to broaden its coverage in the United States. In India, Essilor India Private Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Essilor International, and India's GKB Rx Lens Private Ltd have entered into a joint-venture agreement through which Essilor India will acquire a 50% interest in GKB's prescription laboratory and lens wholesaling business. The agreement includes an option to increase Essilor's stake in the future. Based in Kolkata, family-owned GKB Rx Lens Private Limited is a pioneer in the Indian ophthalmic lens industry. It serves independent opticians and eye care practitioners via a nationwide network of eight prescription laboratories, with $10 million in annual revenues. The agreement has enabled Essilor to enhance its leadership in India, one of the world's fastest growing ophthalmic lens markets. The Company will also be able to leverage its multi-channel strategy in the prescription segment through a second network that will operate alongside the seven proprietary Essilor laboratories and the other Essilor partnerships. The joint venture will be led by the current GKB Rx Lens management team and several Essilor India executives. It will have access to Essilor technology to broaden its range of products. With solid positions in all of the country's leading cities, Essilor is today number one in India's fast growing plastic and progressive lens market. In Taiwan, Essilor has signed a joint venture agreement with Polylite, the second largest company in the local corrective lens market. Polylite Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, which will be owned 51% by Essilor and 49% by Polylite, will combine all of Polylite's prescription laboratories and lens distribution operations in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, representing revenue of around $10 million in 2005. Polylite Asia Pacific Pte Ltd will be led by the current Polylite management team. As part of the agreement, Essilor has also acquired a 12.1% stake in Polylite's manufacturing division. The alliance has enabled Essilor to enter Taiwan, one of the Asian countries where the Company did not yet have any local operations. The Taiwanese market, which is characterized by a high percentage of medium/high index materials and anti-reflective lenses, offers significant potential for progressive lenses. In addition, the Company has strengthened its positions in the prescription laboratory segment in Hong Kong and China, where it already owns several networks. Lastly, in the United States, Essilor of America, Essilor International's US subsidiary, acquired two new prescription laboratories in late 2005. The acquisitions were in line with the strategy being pursued for the past ten years, which focuses on serving eye care professionals and continuously adding technological value to lenses. The two laboratories-ACO Lab Inc. (based in Commerce, CA, near Los Angeles) and Focus Optical Labs Inc. (Chicago, IL)-have revenues of respectively $3.8 million and $3.5 million. They will continue to be managed by their former owners and will now distribute the Varilux(R) and Crizal(R) brands. Essilor International is the world leader in ophthalmic optical products, offering a wide range of lenses under the flagship Varilux(R), Crizal(R), Airwear(R) and Essilor(R) brands to correct myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism. Essilor operates worldwide through 16 production sites, 190 lens finishing laboratories and local distribution networks. The Essilor share trades on the Euronext Paris market and is part of the benchmark CAC 40 index (ISIN: FR 0000121667; Reuters: ESSI.PA; Bloomberg: EF FP). Investor Relations and Financial Communication Veronique Gillet Phone: +33-1-49-77-42-16 DATASOURCE: Essilor CONTACT: Investor Relations and Financial Communication, Veronique Gillet, Phone: +33-1-49-77-42-16

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