Citizen Watch Co., Ltd has acquired in whole the Frédérique Constant Group, including its namesake brand and its subsidiary watch brands, including the sporty Alpina and the high-end Ateliers DeMonaco.

This comes on the heels of the Japanese firm’s acquisition of Swiss movement maker La Joux-Perret and its subsidiary brand Arnold & Son, giving it a more solid footing in the traditional Swiss watchmaking world. With Frédérique Constant and Alpina, Citizen hopes to “augment its portfolio of brands and occupy the  space in the markets where some of our competitors operate and further expand the presence of the Citizen brand in the market.”

Frédérique Constant, founded by Peter and Aletta Stas in 1988, and has been heavily investing in the development and manufacturing of its own in-house movements, making the firm highly valuable to Citizen. Citizen’s large distribution network will arguably result in a mutually beneficial exchange of technologies and know-how, resulting in a much stronger international presence and more diversified product range.

The Swiss watchmaking company is one of the last wholly family-owned Swiss watch manufacturers, and it was reported that no one in the family was interested in taking over the management. Its present management personnel and staff will reportedly continue to hold their positions following this acquisition.