Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** Damiani Group has completed its acquisition of Swiss watchmaker Baume & Mercier from Richemont, finalizing the deal first announced in January. Financial terms remain undisclosed.
Geneva — Damiani Group has finalized its acquisition of watchmaker Baume & Mercier. The luxury group, headquartered in Valenza, Italy, announced in January that it had entered an agreement to acquire the nearly 200-year-old Swiss watch brand from Richemont. The companies announced last Wednesday the transaction had been completed following fulfilment of certain condition precedents. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Baume & Mercier will join Damiani Group’s portfolio, which includes jewelry brands Damiani, Salvini, Bliss, and Calderoni, as well as Murano glassmaker Venini, and Rocca, the group’s multi-brand watch and jewelry distributor.
Damiani Group said its plans for the watch brand include enhancing its global visibility and market reach to realize its long-term potential. The group said it will build upon Baume & Mercier’s strong Italian footprint while also leveraging its extensive multi-brand distribution network and opening mono-brand boutiques in strategic international locations over time.
Richemont will continue to provide operational services for Baume & Mercier for an interim period while Damiani Group prepares to integrate the brand within its own operations.
The watch brand got its start in 1830, when Louis Joseph Baume opened a watchmaking counter in Les Bois, Switzerland. In 1918, one of his descendants, William Baume, partnered with Paul Mercier, and it became Baume & Mercier. Cartier acquired Baume & Mercier, as well as Piaget, in 1988. Cartier was later acquired by Richemont, bringing both brands into its portfolio.
Nicolas Bos, CEO of Richemont, commented:
Guido Damiani, executive president of Damiani Group, said:
