DC Advisory Partners has advised Citizen Watch Co Ltd (Citizen) a Tokyo based global electronics company famous for its technologically advanced watches, on the acquisition of Prothor Holding SA.
Prothor is the holding company for Manufacture La Joux-Perret, Prototec SA and Arnold & Son SA, all of whom are specialists in the luxury Swiss watch industry. Manufacture La Joux-Perret, the most well-known of the subsidiaries, is a leader in the field of high quality mechanical movements and components for the mechanical watch industry. Its product range, which uses sophisticated technological skills, boasts hundreds of unique watch movements.
The transaction presents a number of synergy opportunities for both companies and demonstrates that traditional Swiss craftsmanship is highly attractive to the technologically advanced brands on the other side of the market. It will allow Citizen to use Manufacture La Joux-Perret’s authentic Swiss movements in their own and licensed ‘Swiss-made’ collection, while enabling Manufacture La Joux-Perret to further strengthen its technological position in the sector.
Taeko Saito, DC’s French-speaking Japanese banker who lead the transaction team, said: “The opportunities that this transaction presents for both Citizen and Prothor are truly exciting in terms of innovation and future growth prospects. I am thrilled that DC with its Europe-based Japanese team were able to help bring about such a positive outcome for both companies.”
Citizen is one of numerous Japanese companies to have made acquisitions of European companies in the past year. Last year DC predicted a dramatic increase in Japanese companies and investors acquiring European manufacturers, with both technology and intellectual property rights presenting highly attractive drivers, particularly for corporate investors. According to DC, last April’s earthquake in Japan, coupled with the strength of the yen, has led to many Japanese manufacturers looking overseas for acquisitions in order to widen their geographic footprints and diversify beyond their home markets.
This trend led to Japanese investors acquiring a total of 31 industrials businesses in Europe in 2011, a 138% increase on 2010 and more than double the levels of 2009 and 2008.
