MARC HASENFUSS: Wiese and Rupert’s penchant for diamonds
Older readers will remember that Rupert and Wiese had a bitter tussle over Ocean Diamond Mining Holdings about 18 years ago
It’s rather amusing that tycoons Christo Wiese and Johann Rupert still have a penchant for small diamond ventures. Older readers will remember that Rupert and Wiese had a bitter tussle over Ocean Diamond Mining Holdings (ODM) about 18 years ago. The Rupert family controlled Remgro’s diamond subsidiary, Trans Hex, and was keen to acquire ODM. But Wiese thwarted the takeover effort by building a kingmaker stake in the promising diamond business, then dangling his ODM shares out to a higher takeover bid from marine diamond miner Namco. Trans Hex opted for second prize, buying operational assets from the less impressive marine diamond miner Benco. But it never really found the operational traction it needed. In 2010 Remgro unbundled Trans Hex. In 2016 Wiese joined investment company RECM & Calibre as the anchor shareholders at Trans Hex. Despite initial excitement around Wiese’s involvement, Trans Hex’s market value has taken a pasting, shifting down from R632m at the start of 2017 to R...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.