Diamond firm near €16m merger

WEST African Diamonds (WAD) – the John Teeling-chaired mining company – is close to finalising a merger deal, which would grow its market value from £3m (€3.3m) to £15m (€16.3m) and increase its annual production rate by 400%.

The deal – understood to be with an unnamed privately-owned diamond company based in western Africa – virtually amounts to a majority takeover of the company. WAD’s existing management will retain 25% of the enlarged company, but would remain as managers of the on-the-ground production, while the new investors would take over the corporate management of the enlarged entity.

Last week, WAD – which has its shares listed on London’s AIM market – reported a slight widening of its full year losses – for the 12 months to the end of April – £246,465 compared to £220,066 from the previous year. Then, Mr Teeling said that the company would grow through mergers and acquisitions, while continuing to develop its own reserves. He added that earlier discussions, with a number of companies, had come to nothing.