- Watches of Switzerland shares have fallen over 57% in the last year
Watches of Switzerland Group has acquired Italian jewellery firm Roberto Coin for $130million, or around £104million.
Watches of Switzerland told investors on Thursday that $10million of the purchase price was going to be deferred for one year and ‘contingent on the future profitability of the acquired business’.
The London-listed watchmaker said it secured the deal in a bid to expand further into the lucrative luxury jewellery market.
Deal: Watches of Switzerland Group has acquired Italian jewellery firm Roberto Coin for $130m
Watches of Switzerland has worked with Roberto Coin in a partner capacity for over a decade.
Roberto Coin will continue to operate as an independent, standalone business within the Watches of Switzerland stable.
The founding Coin family will retain a seat on the firm’s board. Peter Webster, who co-founded and led the brand for nearly three decades, will retain his role as president.
The deal was financed by a new $115million loan, upping the group’s leverage to 0.8x net debt, which will leave the firm at the mid-point of its full year leverage guidance, the group said.
Watches of Switzerland shares were up 0.87 per cent or 2.83p to 327.83p on Thursday morning, having fallen over 57 per cent in the last year.
An associate company of Italy’s Roberto Coin SPA, Roberto Coin has exclusive perpetual rights to import and distribute the Italian firm’s jewellery across the US, Canada, Caribbean and Central America.
For the year ending 31 December 2022, Roberto Coin’s annual revenue was $146.2million, while its pre-tax profit stood at $30.1million.
Brian Duffy, chief executive of Watches of Switzerland, said: ‘We have partnered with Roberto Coin for over a decade in the US, retailing its elegant jewellery in a number of our Mayors’ showrooms. It is a hugely popular, growing brand, occupying a strong position in the market, underpinned by product quality, design creativity and imagination.
‘We believe there is significant opportunity to leverage our proven retail expertise in luxury branded jewellery.
‘The luxury branded jewellery category has consistently outperformed the wider jewellery sector, and we see further strategic and operational opportunities for the business within the broader Group. We are committed to our new wholesale partners and excited to work with them and help them grow with Roberto Coin.’
He added: ‘Today’s strategically and financially attractive acquisition is indicative of our ambition and the momentum we are building in this exciting category.
‘It will allow us to take one of the fastest growing jewellery brands in the US and use our retail and operational expertise to accelerate growth and further elevate the Roberto Coin proposition in North and Central America.’