On November 1, 2017, Washington Companies (“Washington”) announced it completed its acquisition of Dominion Diamond. Washington acquired all of Dominion’s outstanding common shares for US$14.25 per share in cash - a total equity value of approximately US$1.2 billion. Washington financed the acquisition in part with the proceeds of a US$550 million senior note offering and partly with the proceeds of a US$200 million senior secured credit facility.
Dominion Diamond is a Canadian diamond mining company, and is Canada’s largest independent diamond producer. It supplies rough diamonds to the global market through its sorting and selling operations in Canada, Belgium, and India.
The Washington Companies are a group of privately held companies headquartered throughout the United States and Canada. They are active in the mining, rail and marine transportation, aviation, environmental remediation and restoration services, and heavy equipment sales and service industries. Washington is headquartered throughout Montana, the Pacific Northwest and western Canada and conducts business internationally.
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP represented the Lenders under the credit facility and the initial purchasers of the notes in the acquisition of Dominion Diamond by Washington Corp with a team composed of Joyce Bernasek and Jeremy Burgess (Banking and Financial Services), Alan Hutchison and Patrick Sullivan (Corporate), Michelle Lally (Competition), Jennifer Fairfax and Patrick Welsh (Environmental) and Greg Wylie (Tax).