It is for the sake of continuity and sustainability of the brand, Fredrique Constant that CEO Peter Stas has chosen to to take up the acquisition offer put forward by Citizen Watch. In a brief email exchange, Stas explained that despite having been approached in the past, it wasn’t until last year that an offer made was seriously considered. Says Stas, “With certain personal and business considerations in mind, we started to have discussions with the two groups that approached us last year.”

Within these discussions, Stas shared that three major benefits from the offers on the table became increasingly clear for him. To quote Stas himself, these benefits were:

“1. More funding as part of a stock listed group, enabling more aggressive investments (new facilities, international advertorial reach, opportunity for a brand booth in Hall 1.0 at Baselworld 2017).

2. Combined R&D on mechanical and electronic calibers driving continued innovation.

3. Stronger global distribution to allow us to grow in certain markets, in particular the US.”

Fredrique Constant and Citizen Watch took the year to deliberate on the finer points of the acquisition before the final announcement was made today.

Some boarder terms highlighted from the deal by Stas himself, included that Citizen Watch will retain Stas and his management team for the foreseeable next five years, and like all of the Group’s other 125 subsidiaries, Fredrique Constant too will be allowed to manage itself independently.

For Citizen, this is not the first time they have acquired a Swiss watchmaking entity. The Group already holds ownership of La Joux-Perret and the brands that are under its umbrella. Therefore having to oversee a Swiss horology brand is not new to Citizen for sure.

In summing, Stas gave us a sense of his mindset right now, to end off, saying, “We are excited about this next chapter of our company. Thank you for your continued support and sharing this journey with us.”

For more on the matter, you can read right here.