Baker McKenzie Advises Citizen Watch on its Acquisition of Frederique Constant Group
Tokyo, Japan, 10 August 2016 – Baker & McKenzie (Gaikokuho Joint Enterprise) acted for Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. ("Citizen Watch") in its recent acquisition of 100% of the equity interest in Frederique Constant Holding S.A. ("Frederique Constant"), the holding company of the watch manufacturing group Frederique Constant headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with subsidiaries in several countries. Frederique Constant owns and operates the luxury wrist watch brands Frederique Constant, Alpina, and DeMonaco. The total value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
The Baker & McKenzie Geneva team was led by partner Martin Anderson with support from corporate associate Jingjin Guo and industry specialist partner Hubert Gilliéron. The team from the Tokyo office included partners Hiroshi Kondo and Safari Watanabe.
Commenting on the deal, Martin Anderson, who leads the M&A practice in the Geneva office, said, "It was a privilege for us to work with Citizen Watch on this deal that will contribute to its multi-brand strategy and further increase its corporate value and position in the luxury wrist watch market. Our team has been fortunate to have the assistance of our Tokyo colleagues and of our teams based in the countries of incorporation of Frederique Constant’s subsidiaries. Our abundant experience in helping corporations expand globally served to maximize the value of Baker & McKenzie’s expertise in cross-border transactions."
Hiroshi Kondo, head of the Tokyo office’s Corporate / M&A Group, said, "We are honored to have been involved in this significant transaction for Citizen Watch. Joint representation with Martin Anderson’s team in Geneva has enabled us to provide prompt and seamless legal support. We are very pleased to have assisted Citizen Watch with this important transaction which will no doubt strengthen its brand portfolio."