{"id":34415,"date":"2023-09-13T19:03:53","date_gmt":"2023-09-13T19:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?p=34415"},"modified":"2023-09-14T04:53:32","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T04:53:32","slug":"botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash","title":{"rendered":"Botswana\u2019s HB Antwerp Deal Teeters Amid Founders Clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>The future of Botswana\u2019s eagerly anticipated partnership with diamond processor and trader, HB Antwerp, now hangs in the balance as the company\u2019s co-founders clash over its strategic direction. This development comes at a critical juncture with a pending sales agreement between Botswana and HB Antwerp.<\/b><\/p>\n

HB Antwerp, co-founded in 2020 by Oded Mansori, Shai de Toledo, and Rafael Papismedov, announced on Monday that it had ousted Mansori from its management ranks due to irreconcilable differences in strategic vision and business approaches. In response, Mansori has vowed to take his co-founders to court to contest his removal.<\/p>\n

\u201cSharp difference in strategic vision\u201d<\/p>\n

The Belgian company stated in a press release, \u201cOn September 1, HB terminated Oded Mansori\u2019s management role in all the HB Companies,\u201d citing a \u201csharp difference in strategic vision and approaches to business.\u201d This sudden shift in leadership dynamics has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the company\u2019s future and its high-profile deals.<\/p>\n

Of particular concern is Botswana\u2019s involvement in HB Antwerp\u2019s future. Botswana, the world\u2019s leading diamond producer by value, had announced in March its intention to acquire a substantial 24 percent stake in HB Antwerp. Under this arrangement, the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company was expected to supply HB Antwerp with an undisclosed quantity of rough diamonds for a period of five years. However, the finalization of this pivotal deal remains pending.<\/p>\n

The ripple effects of this internal dispute may extend beyond HB Antwerp\u2019s partnership with Botswana. The company also has a partnership with Lucara Diamond Corp (LUC.TO), wherein it purchases stones of 10-carat quality and above from Lucara\u2019s Karowe Mine in central Botswana, with prices based on the estimated polished outcome of each diamond.<\/p>\n

Have critics been absolved?<\/p>\n

Botswana\u2019s decision to invest in HB Antwerp has been shrouded in controversy with critics, including experts and members of parliament, raising concerns about what appeared to be the lack of proper legal, financial, and due diligence assessments before the government purchased a 24 percent stake in the relatively new company.<\/p>\n

This week, a prominent corporate lawyer who chose to remain anonymous, in an interview said he wonders whether any due diligence both legal and financial, were done before the Botswana government decided to buy a 24 percent stake in the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cExperts say if properly done, then the chasm between co-founders would have come to surface. The differences in strategy would have been identified as a potential red flag. It would have identified risks in the corporate structure and informed the investor on the nature of the entity they were placing funds with. As it is, our investment is at risk. For example, if HB was to go bust and in a foreign jurisdiction where we are not certain about legal processes of that jurisdiction. It\u2019s a precarious situation for our investment,\u201d advised the lawyer.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Lefoko Moagi in a heated debate told Parliament in July that: \u201cAfter very extensive consultation, the Botswana government decided to engage HB Antwerp on its unsolicited proposal with clear intentions of developing Botswana\u2019s diamond value chain.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cThe government has no official agreement with HB Antwerp because as of today there is no signed agreement. As such there are no final commercial terms to state.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. The future of Botswana\u2019s eagerly anticipated partnership with diamond processor and trader, HB Antwerp, now hangs in the balance as the company\u2019s co-founders clash over its strategic direction. This development comes at a critical juncture with a pending sales agreement between Botswana and HB Antwerp. HB Antwerp, co-founded in 2020 by Oded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":34414,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-34415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nBotswana\u2019s HB Antwerp Deal Teeters Amid Founders Clash - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The future of Botswana\u2019s eagerly anticipated partnership with diamond processor and trader, HB Antwerp, now hangs in ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Botswana\u2019s HB Antwerp Deal Teeters Amid Founders Clash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The future of Botswana\u2019s eagerly anticipated partnership with diamond processor and trader, HB Antwerp, now hangs in ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-13T19:03:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-14T04:53:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/09\/sm_1694614425.160447.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Botswana\u2019s HB Antwerp Deal Teeters Amid Founders Clash\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-13T19:03:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-14T04:53:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash\"},\"wordCount\":568,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2023\/09\/sm_1694614425.160447.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/botswanas-hb-antwerp-deal-teeters-amid-founders-clash\",\"name\":\"Botswana\u2019s HB Antwerp Deal Teeters Amid Founders Clash - 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