Luxottica declines to comment reportedly plans to soon launch $300 million bond

        MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Luxottica Group SpA declined to comment a report
in the daily Il Sole 24 Ore saying that it plans to launch soon a placement of
$300 million worth of 10-year bonds with institutional investors.
    The newspaper said the placement could be completed by the end of May or
early June after a road show in the U.S.
    The arrangers of the placement are UniCredit Market and Investment Banking
and Bank of America, it added.
    The proceeds will be used to refinance the $2.1 billion acquisition of the
U.S. group Oakley completed in November last year.
    In August, Luxottica said that the purchase would be financed by a $1.5
billion amortizing term loan with a maturity of five years and by a $500 million
short-term bridge loan underwritten by Bank of America and UniCredit Market and
Investment Banking.
    The company already said in August that the $500 million facility could be
partially refinanced with a U.S. private placement when market conditions are
favourable.
    The daily Il Sole 24 Ore cited a banker involved in the deal as saying that
after the recent credit crunch there now is a window of opportunity for raising
debt in the market for solid companies.
    Luxottica is the world's leading eyewear group with a net debt of 2.729
billion euros at the end of March, representing 2.38 times EBITDA.
    The company does not have a credit rating because it does not have listed
bonds and would probably not need one if it carries out a private placement,
industry sources said.
    Yesterday, Safilo Group SpA, the world's second largest eyewear group, said
it was still working with banks regarding the refinancing of a high-yield bond
and no news is expected before the summer.
    Safilo's bond carries an annual coupon of 9.625 percent and expires in May
2013, but the company is free to repay it from May 15 this year. As of end 2007,
the company still had to repay 195 million euros in capital for the bond.
    Safilo's overall net debt stood at 552.0 million euros at the end of March.
    The rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch both having BB- ratings for
Safilo and its bond, while Moody's gave the company a BA3 rating and the bond a
B2 rating.
    All three ratings agencies have stable outlook recommendations.

philip.webster@thomsonreuters.com
pw/ejp

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