£2,500,000 DIAMOND SHARE Dem.
A rearrangement of holdings in the diamond industry, involving £2,Soo,000, was announced last week. De Beers Consolidated Mines have bought from Anglo American Investment Trust and the Barnato Brothers group 2,500,000 LI ordinary shares of the Diamond Corporation for £2,500,000, thus acquiring a substantial majority of the Diamond Corpora- tion shares. The vendors are to be paid as to £1,250,000 in De Beers Deferred shares at Do per share, as to £250,000 in cash immediately and as to £1,000,000 in cash on December 31st, 1939. The Anglo American Investment Trust and Barnato Brothers group are to provide £I,000,000 fresh capital for the Diamond Trading Company which acts as marketing organisa- tion for the whole diamond combine, and they receive an option to subscribe at Do per share for a further too,000 De Beers deferred shares.
At a later stage Consolidated Diamond Mines of South West Africa, already closely associated with De Beers, are to participate in that company's purchase of the Diamond Corporation shares. The deal has two objectives, to achieve trade expansion by providing the Diamond Trading Coinpany with extra capital, and also, the directors anticipate, to enable De Beers and Consolidated Diamond Mines to cover their preference dividend on a smaller volume of trade. The former aim is self-explanatory ; as to the latter, shareholders must await some further explanation from their chairman, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer.
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