Swatch CEO Says ‘Nothing New’ in Buyout Talk Lifting Stock

Swatch Group AG Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek said that it’s “pure speculation” that the company is considering going private now, although it’s something that “would be nice to do.”

The CEO made those comments to Bloomberg after an interview he gave to a Swiss publication on the matter contributed to the biggest intraday jump in its shares on record.

“I always said that taking the company private would be a nice thing to do and, at so ridiculous low share prices that we saw since quite some time, even more seducing,” Hayek said. “So the interview today says nothing ...