Harry Winston acquisition of Ekati to go ahead after court case withdrawn

Harry Winston Diamond Corp's US$500 million acquisition of BHP Billiton's 80-percent holding in the Ekati diamond mine in Canada's NorthWest Territories will be going ahead after a possible legal hurdle was dropped.

A formal Notice of Discontinuance of the court action brought by C. Fipke Holdings Ltd against BHP Billiton Canada Ltd, Harry Winston, Stuart Blusson, Archon Minerals and associated other companies had been Harry Winston said it had received.

Harry Winston said BHP Billiton had advised it that all of its joint venture partners had agreed to renounce their rights of first refusal regarding the sale of its stake to Harry Winston.

The discontinuance of the action and waivers of the rights of first refusal enable the acquisition to continue, subject to satisfaction of closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Geologists Chuck Fipke and Stuart Blusson discovered the diamond deposit at Ekati in 1991 and own 20 percent of it. They owned the rights of first refusal regarding BHP Billiton's stake in the operation.

C. Fipke Holdings Ltd. had claimed in Ontario Superior Court of Justice that BHP Billiton's offers to Fipke were not in line with his rights under the Ekati joint-venture agreements. Fipke alleged that Harry Winston's debt-financing deal for its acquisition of BHP's interests hindered his ability to arrange financing.