UPDATE: Feud settled. HB Antwerp Cofounders Split, Plan Court Fight

[PinkDiamond]

When you have 5 partners who suddenly vote you out of the business, of course a lawsuit will be filed and it will be interesting to see how this one plays out since cofounders should be hard to eliminate, but there's another such battle going on in a different trade that's already winding its way through the courts, so I'll have to watch for more on this so we can see what the verdict is.

HB Antwerp Cofounders Split, Plan Court Fight
By Rob Bates | September 12, 2023



"There’s tension at the top of HB Antwerp, the three-year-old diamond company whose meteoric rise has led to partnerships with the government of Botswana and Lucara Diamond.

Company cofounder Oded Mansori (pictured) is taking legal action against the company in Belgian court after being removed as a director, he said in a statement. He remains a company shareholder.

On Sept. 1, fellow cofounders Rafael Papismedov and Shai de Toledo “took the initiative to deviate from the collective vision and mutual agreements,” Mansori said in an emailed statement. “Their actions aim to remove Mansori, and with him, his vision and capacities from HB.”

An HB statement responded that “as part of the company’s development, on Sept. 1, HB terminated Oded Mansori’s management role in all the HB companies due to a sharp difference in strategic vision and approaches to business.”

It declined further comment, “to respect due process and the Belgian court system.”

Mansori’s statement said that HB’s five partners had occasional “differences of opinion” but always managed to find “common ground.” HB Antwerp’s Code of Conduct lists five managing partners: Mansori, de Toledo, Papismedov, Boaz Lev, and Roy Seber. A spokesperson says the company currently has three directors: de Toledo, Papismedov, and Lev.

Before cofounding HB Antwerp, Mansori was CEO of Rare Diamond House and managing director of the Steinmetz Group’s polished division in Antwerp.

The government of Botswana announced in March that it was taking a 24% equity stake in HB, but it hasn’t released any information on how much the country is paying for its share. In July, minister of mines Lefoko Moagi told Botswana’s parliament there was still “no signed agreement” between the country and HB, so he couldn’t offer any details.

Since 2020, HB has had a deal with Botswanan miner Lucara to buy its biggest diamonds, in exchange for giving Lucara a percentage of the final polished price. The two signed ... "
https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-art ... ers-split/

[PinkDiamond]

Here's the update to this story that I said I'd watch for, and there was no court verdict to relay to you since they settled. Here's what they did.

HB Antwerp Settles Founder Feud
By Rob Bates | October 03, 2023



HB Antwerp has reinstated Oded Mansori (pictured) as managing partner and director, heading off a lawsuit from one of the company’s founders.

“We were able to move past the internal differences of the last several weeks and emerge better positioned to redefine the natural diamond industry and deliver greater returns for the country of origin, specifically Botswana,” said cofounder Rafael Papismedov in a statement.

HB has four managing partners: Papismedov, Mansori, Shai de Toledo, and Boaz Lev.

“We have been able to grow from this experience and come back together stronger and more unified than ever to further promote HB as a model for meaningful change across the minerals sector,” Mansori said in the statement.

The news comes shortly after HB’s main supplier, Lucara Diamond, opted to break a 10-year sales agreement with HB for its largest diamonds. HB has declined comment on that action.

In March, Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi said there was an “agreement in principle” to take a 24% equity stake in HB. But at a press conference last week, Masisi said ... "
https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-art ... nder-feud/