Mayors Jewelers To Be Sold To British Holding Company

Birks Yorkdale store in North York, Ontario, Canada

In a multi-tiered deal Canadian jeweler, Birks Group, has agreed to sell its U.S.-based subsidiary, Mayors Jewelers, to British holding company, Aurum, in a transaction valued at $104.6 million.

As part of the transaction Birks entered into a five-year distribution agreement with Aurum to sell Birks fine jewelry in the U.K. through Aurum-owned retailers, Mappin & Webb, Goldsmiths, and on its e-commerce sites. In addition, the Birks collections will continue to be sold in the United States through Mayors’ stores.

“The agreement is an important achievement in the company’s strategy to develop the Birks brand into a global luxury brand,” Birks said in a statement.

The transaction, subject to specified closing conditions and purchase price adjustments, is expected to close in the fall of 2017.

Birks is a Montreal-based designer and manufacturer of jewelry that it retails (along with timepieces and gifts) through approximately 30 luxury jewelry stores in Canada under the Birks and Brinkhaus brands, and through a wholesale network. It also owns the U.S. luxury jewelry retail chain, Mayors Jewelers, which has approximately 17 stores in Florida and Georgia.

Aurum Holdings is the largest prestige luxury jewelers and timepieces retailer in the U.K. with approximately 140 stores and online retail sites. Its portfolio includes Watches of Switzerland, Goldsmiths, Mappin & Webb, Watchshop, The Watch Hut and The Watch Lab.

Birks in a statement said proceeds from the transaction will be used by to continue its “strategic growth initiatives,” specifically to invest in its Canadian stores and new store concepts, as well as in its whole activities and e-commerce, as part of the “company’s omni-channel plan.” Transaction proceeds will also be used to pay down outstanding debt under the company’s senior secured credit facilities that include term debt and working capital debt associated with Mayors.

“This transaction is a significant step in our efforts to strengthen our balance sheet to better position the company for growth as well as long-term shareholder value,” Jean-Christophe Bédos, president and CEO of Birks Group, said in a statement. “We believe that monetizing the value of Mayors gives us the ability to execute our strategic vision of investing in the Birks brand together with the retailing of internationally renowned jewelry and timepiece brands in Canada, thus transforming Birks into a global, omni-channel business.”

He added, “This transaction with Aurum also opens the doors to the U.K. market for our jewelry collections and we are extremely proud to join such a prestigious network as Aurum’s under the Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths banners.”

Brian Duffy, president of Aurum, said in a statement the purchase of Mayors works within the British company’s plan “to be an important part of the Swiss watch market in the USA.” The company recently announced that it will open a flagship Watches of Switzerland store in the new Hudson Yards development in New York.

“We have admired Mayors for some time and see a great deal of similarities with how we operate our business in the U.K. Mayors,” he said.

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Birks Unveils 16-Carat Fancy Yellow Diamond

The Birks jewelry store in Edmonton, Canada, is selling a 16.01-carat fancy intense yellow diamond set on a diamond pavé platinum ring. The natural colored, Asscher cut, VVS1 diamond was recently discovered and is conflict-free, according to the Birks jewelry chain. The ring is on sale for CAD$1.8 million ($1.7 million).

The ring will be on view and on sale at the Birks store in Manulife Place until April 16 before moving to the Birks store in the Core shopping center in Calgary.

Birks is 30-store fine jewelry retail chain in Canada. It is part of Birks & Mayors, which also operates 23 stores under the Mayors brand in Florida and Georgia, two retail locations in Calgary and Vancouver under the Brinkhaus brand, and one retail location in Orlando under the Rolex brand.

Pink Diamond Sets Canadian Auction Record

A pink diamond was auctioned for a Canadian record of $2.3 million Sunday in Toronto, according to media reports.

The gem was purchased by an anonymous buyer, possibly an American, via phone during Sunday's auction at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Toronto, The Toronto Star reported Monday. The gem, with a clarity rating of VS2, came from the Argyle mine in Australia, which is known as the world’s largest supplier of pink diamonds.

The sum paid for the diamond, which includes "full naming rights," beat the previous record for an auctioned gem in Canada, $244,000.

The auctioneer, Toronto-based Circa Auctions, said the pink diamond was valued at $2.4 million to $2.9 million before the auction.

Harry Winston Increases Stake in Canadian Diamond Mine

Harry Winston Diamond Corp. said Friday it has struck a deal to purchase an additional 9 percent stake in Diavik Diamond Mine for $220 million from Kinross Gold Corp. When the purchase is finalized, Harry Winston will own 40 percent of the mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories of Canada.

Toronto-based Harry Winston will pay Kinross $50 million in cash, 7.1 million in stock and $70 million in debt securities, according to a company statement.

In a related development, Toronto-based Kinross said Friday that it has reached an agreement to sell approximately 15 million common shares of Harry Winston to a group of financial institutions. Kinross' direct ownership interest in Harry Winston following closing of the transaction will be approximately 8.5 percent. Kinross originally acquired the interest in Diavik in March 2009, as part of a deal that saw the company also gain a 19.9 percent stake in Harry Winston for $150 million.

“The transaction represents an opportunity for Harry Winston to consolidate its interest in the Diavik mine, Canada's largest diamond producer and one of the most profitable diamond mines in the world,” Robert Gannicott, Harry Winston chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

Harry Winston Diamond Corp. has assets in the mining and retail segments of the diamond industry. Harry Winston supplies rough diamonds to the global market and the company's retail division is a diamond jeweler and luxury timepiece retailer with salons in key locations, including New York, Paris, London, Beijing, Tokyo and Beverly Hills.