Diamond News Archives

(IDEX Online) - The French luxury conglomerate LVMH says it will vigorously defend itself against legal action after the collapse of its planned $16.2bn acquisition of Tiffany & Co.

In a strongly-worded press release it said the lawsuit was "totally unfounded" and accused the New York-based jeweler of "dishonesty" and misleading its shareholders.

"The long preparation of this assignment (the lawsuit) demonstrates the dishonesty of Tiffany in its relations with LVMH," it said.

The deal, agreed in November 2019, fell apart last week with LVMH blaming a tit-for-tat trade war between France and the US over tariffs.

Tiffany accused LVMH of failing to secure regulatory approvals in time, a charge the company vehemently denies.

Tiffany is asking a US court to compel LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet & Chandon) to go through with the deal before 24 November.

LVMH says Tiffany's first half results for 2020 were disappointing, it did not handle the COVID-19 crisis well and that as a result "the necessary conditions for the conclusion of the acquisition of Tiffany are not fulfilled"....

(IDEX Online) - Police in Angola have seized a 147-carat diamond as part of Operation Transparency, its long-running crackdown on illicit diamond trafficking and illegal immigration.

An Angolan citizen and a foreign national were detained in the eastern Lunda Norte province, according to the country's official news agency Angola Press. No further details about the stone were disclosed.

Security forces forces seized 6,579 diamond stones last year, as well as 19 vehicles and $275,000.  They also detained almost 150,000 illegal foreign citizens, the news agency said.

Angola has made repeated efforts to counter diamond smuggling and faced ongoing allegations over "conflict diamonds".

It's currently the world's sixth biggest diamond producer but has yet to explore 60 per cent of its potential kimberlite reserves. ...