tax
point of view and to make negotiations easy vis-a-vis our Government
think formation of South African company might be advisable. Does
following suggestion appeal to you. Form company £3,000,000 capital 25
per cent paid-up capital £1,500,000 debentures fully subscribed. New
company to enter into five-year agreement with Union producers and
taking over South West African and other contracts already entered into
by us, each of us to lay off in consultation in sub-participation as
much as we may consider fit. We would like to retain not less than
one-third of business. It is quite clear that we must give Union
producers equal terms to those which we already given to South West
Africa which are very satisfactory. I am taking no steps pending
further consultation with Barnato Brothers. Cable Barnato Brothers
views.
After
this, things moved quickly. Barnato Brothers agreed to come into the
'Oppenheimer' syndicate (there was later to be a little trouble over
the exact percentage of participation). On the 14th Dunkels-buhler's
cabled Johannesburg. 'L. Breitmeyer and associates have made offer De
Beers therefore inform producers you will on behalf Barnato Brothers
Johannesburg Consolidated Investment ourselves make offer today or
tomorrow purchase their production.' Everyone was urging immediate
action on Ernest Oppenheimer; one of the difficulties was to prevent
disclosure of the terms of the proposed offer to competitors, clearly
in order to prevent a repetition of the situation of January 1925. On
16 July an offer was duly made to De Beers by Ernest, 'on behalf of
Barnato Brothers and friends, Anglo American Corporation and friends
... for your and Premier Diamond Mining Company's production'.
The
offer was a generous one, but was not accepted by De Beers except after
a further period of bargaining (concerned largely with the division of
profits and certain other more technical matters) and it was not until
30 July that Ernest Oppenheimer could cable to Hull that he had
fixed
up outstanding point . . . Frames [chairman of De Beers] and London
directors have recommended Kimberley board to accept. They will
communicate with Government probably tomorrow. It is certain that
existence control bill assured fair treatment for us and excellent
contract for producers. . . . Louis left last night feeling more
cheerful than ever.
Congratulations
started to pour in from friends, from associates and from fellow
workers. To Walter Dunkels the two brothers wired 'Good luck; now we
can go ahead'. To Solly Joel: 'Look forward to closest co-operation in
future for mutual success'; while Walter wrote
