(IDEX Online) - Private equity firm Huron Capital has made a significant equity investment in WD Lab Grown Diamonds which is based in the Washington D.C. area and produces large, high-quality laboratory grown diamonds for the jewelry, scientific and industrial markets.
"The Huron Capital investment is expected to help us significantly expand our capacity in the fast-growing, high-quality segments of both the gem and industrial markets, and build our base of trade partnerships," said Clive Hill, WD founder and CEO. "We believe we can provide the safest supply certainty for this technical product and the most consistent volume option for the biggest players in the gem market - as illustrated by our support to Richline Group, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, for their recently launched lab-grown diamond brand, which services national retailers with diamonds grown by WD."
WD holds an extensive portfolio of exclusive global licenses with the Carnegie Institution of Washington centered on the patented Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process and other methods to grow diamonds, the company said in a statement, adding that the Carnegie Institution has been a shareholder in WD since 2011. "WD is well-known commercially to be able to grow and supply its retail, wholesale and industrial customers with consistent quantity and quality of diamonds to meet demand," the firm said. "In May 2018, WD's laboratories produced the world's largest known gem-quality lab-grown diamond to date in a matter of months, compared with the billions of years it can take diamonds to form in the earth."
WD's Chief Technology Officer Yarden Tsach said: "Huron Capital is expected to bring expertise to help manage our explosive growth and can also help set our priorities in the scientific and industrial diamond markets."
Michael Beauregard, Senior Partner at Huron Capital, said: "We believe WD's exclusive technology and manufacturing capabilities place the company at the forefront of one of the fastest-growing segments of the diamond industry."
"Clive Hill, co-owner Yarden Tsach and the talented management team at WD have created a cutting-edge company with an exciting future, and we are thrilled to become part of it," Michael Zukas, Huron Capital Vice President, said. Hill and Tsach will continue to lead the business as CEO and CTO, respectively, and each remains a significant shareholder in the business."