De Beers owners set to inject US$1 bil.: report

The shareholders made the in principle agreement after a disastrous year for the diamond industry which suffered a slump in prices and sales thanks to the global financial crisis, the Financial Times said, quoting unnamed sources.

De Beers is by far the biggest diamond company in the world. The company is 45 percent owned by global mining giant Anglo American, 40 percent by the Oppenheimer family and 15 percent by the government of Botswana.

The company needs to refinance 1.5 billion dollars (912 million pounds, 998 million euros) in debt due in March 2010, the paper said.

The shareholders will make no decision on injecting the money until the banks have laid out their terms, according to the paper.

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