Dominion Diamond Corp. and The Washington Companies, a group of privately held North American mining, industrial and transportation businesses, announced they have entered into an arrangement where a subsidiary of Washington will acquire all of Dominion’s outstanding common shares for $14.25/share, a deal worth approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction represents a 44% premium to Dominion’s unaffected share price of $9.92 on March 17.
The Dominion board unanimously approved the arrangement and recommended that Dominion’s shareholders vote in favor.
“Dominion Diamond has an excellent collection of mining assets and a talented and experienced management team and workforce,” said Lawrence R. Simkins, president of Washington. “We are excited to work with their team to extend the mine life of the Ekati mine and continue partnering with Rio Tinto in the operation of the Diavik mine, while maintaining long-term employment for Dominion employees.”
