A report by Russia’s Prime Business News Agency says that Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev has confirmed to the agency that ALROSA will acquire Kristall Smolensk Diamonds, Russia’s state-owned cutting and polishing company.

The acquisition, he indicated, will be completed by October this year. “There is an agreement with the Federal State Property Management Agency to close the deal until the end of the third quarter,” Moiseev told Prime.

The report stated that ALROSA will buy Kristall at market price, but said that an earlier offer by the Russian mining giant was thought to be not high enough.  

It was in May 2018 that Russia’s news agency Tass had  reported that in March this year,    Moiseev had said that the country’s Finance Ministry was considering “privatization options for Kristall Smolensk Diamonds”.