One of Watches of Switzerland Group Plc’s biggest investors reduced its stake in the UK-listed watch retailer less than 24 hours after Rolex SA decided to acquire rival Bucherer AG.
Edinburgh-based investment management firm Abrdn Plc sold 5 million shares on Friday, lowering its stake to 6.1% from 8.2%, according to a London Stock Exchange filing.
Watches of Switzerland shares fell 21% on the day to a record high after analysts warned that Rolex may start switching its watch supplies to Bucherer instead of third-party sellers like Watches of Switzerland. Rolex announced the acquisition late Thursday.
Abrdn and Watches of Switzerland declined to comment.
Abrdn published a blog post last year about its Watches of Switzerland investment, saying the retailer’s partnerships with watchmakers such as Rolex allowed it to get better inventory allocations than rivals.
