Swiss watch brand Breitling said it plans to go public in the next few years after Partners Group, a Swiss private equity firm, purchased a “significant minority stake” in the company.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The statement said that Breitling planned to increase its direct-to-consumer sales and to expand the Breitling-owned retail network in the United States and Asia. It will also “continue to increase operational efficiency,” it said.
Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners Fund VI, which purchased 80% of the company in 2017, will remain the company’s majority owner. Partners Group said it purchased its shares from both CVC and company management.
Last week Bloomberg reported that Partners Group was looking to purchase 25% of the company, in a deal that would value the company at $3.3 billion, or 3 billion Swiss francs. The news service previously had reported that CVC had been working with advisors to “explore options” for Breitling.
It said the brand has seen “significant growth” under CEO Georges Kern, the former Richemont exec who came on board after CVC purchased it. The statement said it hopes to make Breitling, which was founded in 1884, into the “leading neo-luxury watch brand.”
As a result of this transaction, Partners Group cofounder Alfred Gantner, a leading Swiss businessman, will join Breitling’s board of directors.
“We are very pleased to be bringing Partners Group on board and look forward to working closely with them to continue to grow this iconic business further and ultimately target an IPO in a few years’ time,” said Daniel Pindur, a partner in CVC Capital Partners, in a statement.
Kern said in a statement that the company’s new investor will help the brand “accomplish our ambitious targets to realize our immense potential to become one of the undisputed leaders in the Swiss watch industry.”
Top: Breitling’s Super Chronomat Collection (photo courtesy of Breitling)
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