DKSH sells its 25% stake in Swiss luxury watchmaker Bovet

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 30, 2022

DKSH is to sell its 25% stake in Swiss luxury watchmaker Bovet to majority owner Pascal Raffy, the company said in a statement on Friday.

The transaction makes Raffy, who already holds 75% of the business, the sole owner.

Swiss holding company DKSH added that "the transaction does not materially affect [its] profit and loss statement”.

Raffy, a former pharmaceutical executive who had played a key role in transforming Synthélabo into the third-largest pharmaceutical group in France, was also an avid watch collector before buying the company.

He acquired the Bovet brand — which was founded by Edouard Bovet in England in1822 — after returning from early retirement, buying his majority stake for around $5 million in 2001 with the aim of returning it to its 19th century glory days and keeping it ultra-exclusive.

He’s since invested millions in the business that sells watches starting at around $20,000 and rising above $1 million.