Titan to acquire Swiss brand Favre Leuba

Titan Industries would pick up Swiss watch brand Favre

Leuba for over Rs 13 crores as a part of its product portfolio expansion plan. It has already made a binding offer with Val family SL Spain and Maison Favre Leuba of Switzerland for the acquisition, post which Titan will secure global rights for the brand. In its letter to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Titan says that this acquisition is being pursued on an asset purchase mode for a sum of around Rs 13 crores. The move comes as a part of company’s aggressive plans of product portfolio expansion by adding and acquiring new watch brands to its existing kitty.

The history of Favre-Leuba begins in 1718, when watch enthusiast Abraham Favre decided to become a watchmaker. His profession was soon recognized, and his manufactory was officially registered in 1737. The company was passed down through eight generations of Favre family. In 1814, Abraham Favre's grandson Henry-Auguste went into partnership with Auguste Leuba, a watch dealer from Buttes in the Val-de-Travers. The business remained in the same family over eight generations, through to 1969. Then the quartz revolution came along, bringing many changes for the industry. Favre-Leuba, one of the largest companies of its time, passed through different hands such as Benedom SA and LVMH before finally regaining its independence in 2003.