Richemont acquires Wisdom

Richemont, the Swiss based luxury goods group controlled by the Rupert family, has reinforced its presence in the jewellery watch segment.
The group announced on Monday that it had acquired Fabrique d'Horlogerie Minerva SA in a private transaction from GPP International SA, Luxembourg. No numbers were mentioned.

The well known watch brand Minerva was established by Charles Robert in 1858 and is based in Villeret, Switzerland.
Fabrique d'Horlogerie Minerva SA specialises in the development and manufacturing of high end mechanical movements as well as luxury time pieces.

In a terse announcement Richemont said the transaction would not have a material impact on the group's consolidated net assets and would not have any impact on profitability for the year to end-March 2007.
Richemont, which owns an array of luxury brands, already owns a handful of specialist watchmakers - including Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, IWC, Baume & Mercier, Vacheron Constantin, Officine Panerai and A Lange & Sohne.
Other mainstay Richemont brands include Cartier, Montblanc, Montegrappa, Lancel, Alfred Dunhill and Van Cleef & Arpels.

The expansion of the luxury brands range should be welcomed by the market - especially investors who would prefer Richemont to lessen the influence of the tobacco business on the bottom line.
In addition to its luxury goods business, Richemont still holds an 18.6% stake in British American Tobacco (BAT).