De Beers to settle most US suits
De Beers, 45 percent owned by mining group Anglo American Plc. has
faced antitrust cases in the United States since 1945.
The statement said the proposed deal would cover claims by a
nationwide class of indirect diamond purchasers for $250 million.
Last year, the company pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to a
decade-old price-fixing charge, paving the way for the firm to again
compete directly in the United States instead of using
intermediaries.
De Beers directly returned to the U.S. market in June with the
opening of a flagship De Beers LV retail shop on New York’s swank
Fifth Avenue, a joint venture with French luxury goods group Louis
Vuitton Moet Hennessy
The De Beers statement said the proposed settlement of the suits was
subject to final approval by the U.S. District Court in New Jersey,
and it hoped to obtain final approval during 2006.