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Private Equity Firms Write Down Value of Breitling, Report Says
The Swiss watchmaker is battling declining sales amid a rapid retail expansion, according to a Financial Times report.
The Breitling Navitimer B19 Chronograph 43 Perpetual Calendar watch, released in 2024 in honor of its 140th Anniversary. The Swiss watchmaker’s private equity owners have lowered its valuation, according to reports.
New York—The private equity firms that own Breitling have drastically reduced the watch brand’s valuation following a decline in sales and a rapid, pricey store rollout.
CVC Capital and Partners Group wrote down the Swiss watchmaker’s value to around half of what it was three years ago, according to a report by the Financial Times.
London-based CVC Capital acquired an 80 percent stake in Breitling in 2017 in a deal reportedly worth $870 million.
In December 2022, CVC sold a controlling stake (more than 50 percent) to Partners Group in a deal that reportedly valued the watch brand at $4.5 billion.
CVC has reportedly slashed the value of its remaining stake to half of what it was in 2023, as per FT.
Partners’ value is reportedly holding at 70 percent compared with 2023.
Breitling, CVC Capital, and Partners Group all declined to comment on the report.
CVC Capital and Partners Group are reviewing Breitling’s strategy after an expensive store rollout and a decline in demand for luxury watches, due in part to U.S. tariffs on Switzerland, sources familiar with the matter told the FT.
The tax on imports from Switzerland was 39 percent from August through November, when Switzerland reached a trade deal with the United States that dropped the rate to 15 percent.
The tax on imports from all countries, including Switzerland, is now 10 percent.
Related stories will be right here …
CVC Capital and Partners Group wrote down the Swiss watchmaker’s value to around half of what it was three years ago, according to a report by the Financial Times.
London-based CVC Capital acquired an 80 percent stake in Breitling in 2017 in a deal reportedly worth $870 million.
In December 2022, CVC sold a controlling stake (more than 50 percent) to Partners Group in a deal that reportedly valued the watch brand at $4.5 billion.
CVC has reportedly slashed the value of its remaining stake to half of what it was in 2023, as per FT.
Partners’ value is reportedly holding at 70 percent compared with 2023.
Breitling, CVC Capital, and Partners Group all declined to comment on the report.
CVC Capital and Partners Group are reviewing Breitling’s strategy after an expensive store rollout and a decline in demand for luxury watches, due in part to U.S. tariffs on Switzerland, sources familiar with the matter told the FT.
The tax on imports from Switzerland was 39 percent from August through November, when Switzerland reached a trade deal with the United States that dropped the rate to 15 percent.
The tax on imports from all countries, including Switzerland, is now 10 percent.
Breitling’s retail sales were estimated to be around 1.1 billion Swiss francs ($1.42 billion) in 2025, down from 1.2 billion Swiss francs ($1.55 billion) in 2023, according to data from Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult cited by WatchPro.
Breitling was the 17th biggest Swiss watchmaker in 2018, a year after its sale to private equity, and rose to No. 9 in 2022, where it still sits, said WatchPro.
Breitling CEO Georges Kern joined the company in 2017 shortly after CVC Capital took a controlling stake, with plans to expand its digital and retail footprints.
The watch brand had 56 boutiques in 2017, according to The New York Times, and now has more than 290 “industrial loft-inspired” retail locations worldwide, according to a recent press release from the brand.
The company acquired two watch brands in recent years, Universal Genève in 2023 and Gallet in 2025.
Breitling also signed several celebrities as brand ambassadors in recent years, including actor Austin Butler, NFL star Trevor Lawrence, and actress Charlize Theron.
In 2025, it became the NFL’s official timepiece partner, fêting the partnership with a massive, tailgate-style party outside its store in New York’s Meatpacking District.
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