Gatemore Seeks Watches of Switzerland Buyback, US Listing

(Bloomberg) — Gatemore Capital Management has taken a position in Watches of Switzerland Group Plc and is asking the retailer of luxury timepieces to pursue an aggressive share buyback and consider listing in the US.

The activist investment firm disclosed its stake in London-listed Watches of Switzerland on Tuesday.

Gatemore managing partner Liad Meidar said at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York on Tuesday that the firm engaged with Watches of Switzerland last month. 

He said Gatemore asked it to pursue an “aggressive” share buyback — £25 million ($32 million) to £50 million — and that the message had been “well received.” London-based Gatemore also wants Watches of Switzerland to pursue a US listing.

“Long only funds in the US would like to get exposure to this,” Meidar said. “It’s the only way to get exposure to the Rolex story in a meaningful way.”

The company should look at acquisitions in the US and of other watch retailers, he said.

“We maintain an open dialogue with all our shareholders but do not comment on individual shareholder views,” a spokesperson for the Watches of Switzerland said.

Shares of Watches of Switzerland have lost more than a third of their value this year. The shares rose 0.9% in London trading Tuesday, giving the company a market value of about £1 billion. 

–With assistance from Aaron Kirchfeld.

(Updates with amount of buybacks sought in fourth paragraph. Gatemore’s location was corrected in an earlier version of this story.)

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