The companies have yet to be named, but their addition will increase the diamond group’s number of global sightholders to 85.
According to De Beers, each applicant for a Supplier of Choice contract was “subject to the same rigorous and objective selection process”, regardless of whether the application was made under the 2014 Intention to Offer (ITO) re-planning process or at the start of the 2012 to 2015 contract period in 2011.
“Each of our new sightholders has demonstrated consistently strong requirements for De Beers rough diamonds via their auction purchases, and we look forward to working with each of them more closely,” De Beers global sightholder sales executive vice president Paul Rowley said.
In addition to the qualification of new sightholders, De Beers’ ITO re-planning process provided opportunities for existing sightholders to qualify for new rough diamond allocations.
The 2014 to 2015 ITO period is the last in the current De Beers contract period, with a new sightholder contract to begin on 31 March 2015.
The new contract will reportedly involve a simplified allocation process and “even more rigorous financial compliance criteria”.
Applications for the next contract period will open in the third quarter of 2014.