EU clears Dutch investor Hal to buy stake in Safilo

BRUSSELS Dec 11 (Reuters) - Dutch investment group Hal Holding received European Union antitrust approval on Friday to buy a stake in Italian eyewear maker Safilo (SFLG.MI), making it the biggest investor in the company.

Safilo, the world's third-biggest producer of eyewear, makes Gucci and Dior sunglasses. It had unveiled in October a recapitalisation plan to boost its capital structure and repay part of its debts.

Hal has holdings in optical retail chains Pearle Europe and GrandVision via its European investment subsidiary Hal Investments.

"The horizontal overlap and vertical relationships between the activities of Hal and Safilo are limited and ... for all products concerned, they will continue to face strong competition," the European Commission said in a statement. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, editing by Dale Hudson)