Gemfields Sells Fabergé Brand for $50M to SMG Capital
Gemfields (LON: GEM) (JSE: GML) has agreed to sell its renowned luxury jewellery brand Fabergé to US investment firm SMG Capital for $50 million, as part of efforts to bolster its finances. SMG Capital is controlled by technology investor Sergei Mosunov.
The sale ends Gemfields’ 12-year ownership of Fabergé, which it acquired from Pallinghurst in 2013 for $142 million. The miner put the brand up for sale in December after unrest in Mozambique forced a temporary suspension of operations at its Montepuez ruby mine.
Founded in 1842 and transformed under Peter Carl Fabergé in 1882 as goldsmith to the Russian Imperial Court, the brand is best known for its ornate Easter eggs commissioned by Tsar Alexander III. Before the 1917 revolution, 50 such eggs were created for the Russian royal family.
Fabergé has faced declining revenues amid a slump in the luxury goods market, reporting $13.4 million in sales in 2024, down from $15.7 million in 2023. The downturn has hit diamond miners and related luxury brands particularly hard.
“The sale marks the end of an era,” said Gemfields chief executive Sean Gilbertson. “Fabergé has played a key role in raising the profile of the coloured gemstones we mine, and we will miss its marketing leverage and star power.”
Gemfields plans to use the proceeds to support its mining operations in Mozambique and Zambia.
Over the decades, Fabergé has passed through various owners, at one point selling for $180 million in 1984 and later being acquired by Unilever for $1.55 billion in 1989. The brand was relaunched by the Fabergé family in 2009 before being purchased by Gemfields.
Gemfields’ shares, which have fallen around 70% since their April 2022 peak of 19.4p, rose 4% to 5.95p in London and 0.74% in Johannesburg by late morning on Monday, valuing the miner at 2.35 billion rand ($132 million).
