De Beers Group is pleased to announce the completion of the previously announced Plan of Arrangement pursuant to which De Beers Canada acquired all of the outstanding securities of Peregrine Diamonds Ltd at a purchase price of C$0.24 per share, for a total cash consideration of C$107 million. The acquisition includes the high quality Chidliak diamond resource located in Canada’s Nunavut Territory and other properties elsewhere in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
The transaction, which was announced July 19, 2018, was approved by Peregrine’s securityholders August 31, 2018 and by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in its final order dated September 10, 2018. The common shares of Peregrine have been approved for delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange and will be delisted at the end of trading September 14, 2018.
Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, said: “We are very pleased to complete the addition of the Chidliak resource to De Beers Group’s world-leading diamond resource portfolio, and to extend our presence in Canada. We look forward to developing the resource further and are excited about its potential for contributing to our future diamond production.”
Kim Truter, CEO, De Beers Canada, said: “We are very excited about the Chidliak cluster, an asset with very strong development potential. Having built and operated three diamond mines in Arctic-like conditions in the past 15 years, our expertise in bringing projects of this nature to fruition is unparalleled. We look forward to accelerating our understanding of this property and how we can move it forward.”
De Beers Group’s financial advisor for the transaction is BMO Capital Markets Limited. De Beers Group’s legal counsel for the transaction is Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP.
About De Beers
De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company and the world’s largest diamond producer by value. It has mines in four countries – Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa – and employs more than 20,000 people.The company was established in 1888 and is owned 85 per cent by Anglo American and 15 per cent by the Government of the Republic of Botswana. With its headquarters in London, it has unrivalled expertise across the diamond value chain – from exploration and production, to rough diamond sales and diamond jewelry retail.
