# KERING acquires Ulysse Nardin in 100% buyout deal



## Michael Weare

Kering, a EUR 4.75 billion French luxury goods conglomerate, has acquired one of the stalwarts of the luxury Swiss watch market, Ulysse Nardin. Ulysse Nardin gives Kering greater legitimacy and weight in the watch making industry, analysts have claimed, as the brand is one of the country's few integrated producers, in terms of parts and movements. Ulysse Nardin has high-tech capabilities when it comes to the manufacturing of escapement parts.

The acquisition, which is a 100% buyout, will also give Kering independence from the industry's top supplier Swatch, which started whittling down deliveries to its main rivals in recent years.

Kering, (formerly PPR) whose prestigious brand portfolio includes stellar names in the field of haute couture and fashion world, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Brioni and Alexander McQueen, came rather late to the market in terms of acquiring haute horology brands. They acquired the Sowind Group who own Girard Perregaux and JEANRICHARD in 2011, just 6 months after the death of Sowind Founder Luigi Macaluso.









Similarly, Ulysse Nardin lost its CEO Ralf W. Schnyder after a brief illness in April 2011. From his base in Malaysia he was responsible for re-establishing and bringing fresh credibility to the marine inspired brand, originally founded in 1846.

Both Girard Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin are likely to benefit from what the conglomerate likes to call the 'Kering Effect', which is increased financial firepower but with a large amount of autonomy and full creative freedom to develop the brand.

Ulysse Nardin, whose marine-inspired watches start at around 7,000 Swiss francs ($7,700), is estimated by industry experts to make annual sales of around CHF 250 million and produces some 30,000 units a year.

_"It fits all our criteria, in terms of growth potential and synergy potential for our other watch brand," e_xplained Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Duplaix.

The takeover is still awaiting the approval of Swiss competition authorities but the deal is expected to be completed by the second half of 2014. As with Girard Perregaux, where the Macaluso brothers Stefano and Massimo retained key executive positions, Ulysse Nardin's brand management team will remain in place, with Patrick Hoffmann staying on as CEO.









Kering's CEO, billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, son of the founder of the organization, leads a life every bit as glamorous as the brands he represents. He is married to Hollywood star Salma Hayek, (no relation to the Hayek family who own the Swatch Group) In 2011 M. Pinault was named in a paternity suit having fathered a son with super model Linda Evangelista.

Visit the Ulysse Nardin website


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