TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Diamond miner Dominion Diamond, formerly known as Harry Winston Diamond, on Tuesday said it had completed the $750-million sale of its luxury brand diamond jewellery and timepiece division to Swiss watchmaker The Swatch Group.
As part of the transaction, the company had changed its name to Dominion Diamond, and the company's stock symbol would change from ‘HW’ to ‘DDC’ on the TSX and from ‘HWD’ to ‘DDC’ on the NYSE.
Dominion Diamond expected to retain an ongoing relationship with Swatch, one of the world's largest buyers of polished diamonds, which would see them sourcing polished diamonds for Swatch.
The company in November agreed to buy global diversified miner BHP Billiton’s diamond interests, including its 80% interest in the Ekati diamond mine, in Canada.
The $500-million deal included BHP Billiton's diamond sorting and sales facilities in Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories and Antwerp, Belgium.