UPDATE 1-EssilorLuxottica shares fall as row of meeting rooms intensifies

* Spat between Del Vecchio and Sagnieres

* A mega-merger agreement was concluded last year (Add comment and fund manager details)

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS, March 28 (Reuters) – EssilorLuxottica shares sold on Thursday after the main shareholder and executive chairman of the company specializing in the eyewear industry filed a request for arbitration aimed at verify alleged breaches of his amalgamation agreement, causing a dispute over control of the group.

EssilorLuxottica shares fell 1.8% at 08:50 GMT, one of the worst performers in the Paris CAC-40 benchmark index. The stock is down more than 10% so far in 2019.

The French company Essilor and its Italian rival Luxottica merged last October, creating the largest eyeglbad manufacturer in the world in a transaction worth 54 billion euros (60.7 billion dollars).

Both groups were supposed to have the same weight in the direction of the new company, but they now accuse themselves of trying to gain the upper hand.

Delfin, the holding company of Luxottica founder Leonardo Del Vecchio, said in a statement on Wednesday that his request for arbitration had been filed with the International Chamber of Commerce.

She said she was seeking an injunction to secure compliance with the power-sharing agreement in the Essilor-Luxottica merger agreement until it expires in 2021.

This request resulted from a stalemate in the EssilorLuxottica board, which was hindering the integration process and the planned synergies of the merger.

Italian businessman Del Vecchio has also been engaged in a dispute with his French counterpart Hubert Sagnières, originally from Essilor and vice president of the new entity.

"It's the war between the French and the Italians. All this risks blocking the planned synergies. It's very bad for the stock. At one time or another, one of the parties will have to take control, "said Jerome Schupp, fund manager at the Geneva investment company Prime Partners.

Prime Partners is moving away from the stock given management issues within the company.

Tensions have increased since last November, when Del Vecchio appeared to use his right hand man, Francesco Milleri, to badume the role of general manager.

France and Italy have already had disputes over companies, while diplomatic differences between the governments of Paris and Rome have also occurred this year.