Fosun International Ltd. is buying an 80 percent share of the Antwerp-based International Gemological Institute, the Financial Times reports.
The newspaper quoted Xu Xiaoliang, co-president of Fosun, saying: “We are very happy to start this partnership with IGI, which provides us a unique opportunity to work with the diamond community around the world.”
IGI, which has 23 laboratories worldwide, bills itself as “the world’s largest independent gem certification and appraisal institute for diamonds, colored gemstones and jewelry.”
Following the acquisition, the Lorie family, which founded the organization, will still own a 20 percent stake, according to the Times.
Marc Brauner, co-CEO of IGI, is leaving the organization.
Fosun is making the acquisition through holding company Yuyuan.
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Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
