Netherlands-based HAL company, the European largest investment company in the glasses industry has acquired 78 percent of a renowned glasses company in Shanghai, according to Thursday's Orient Morning Post.

HAL offered 214 million yuan (25.8 million US dollars) for the merger transaction with the Hongxing Glasses Company, a subsidiaryof the Yiming Department Store, a listed company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Yiming is expected to gain 85 million yuan from the deal, according to the newspaper.

Last year the sales volume of Hongxing reached 100 million yuan,with profits of 18 million yuan, the newspaper said.

In 2004 China's glasses industry output reached 16 billion yuan,up 10 percent year on year, the newspaper said.

Source: Xinhua