SHAREHOLDERS approve De Beers buyout

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) _ Shareholders in the diamond giant De Beers approved Friday an $18.7 billion buyout offer to take the company private. <br><br>The offer from Anglo-American, the Oppenheimer

Friday, May 18th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) _ Shareholders in the diamond giant De Beers approved Friday an $18.7 billion buyout offer to take the company private.

The offer from Anglo-American, the Oppenheimer family and the Debswana diamond company was overwhelmingly approved by shareholders at a meeting Friday.

Anglo-American currently holds 32 percent of the stock in De Beers, the Oppenheimers hold 2 percent and Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the Botswana government, holds 5 percent.