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Lab-Grown Co. Lusix Sold to 2 Companies for $4M
Fenix and Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds have jointly acquired the Israel-based company, which grows diamonds using solar power.
Lusix founder Benny Landa, center, in the lab-grown diamond company’s booth at JCK Las Vegas 2022, where it announced it had just completed a $90 million round of funding. Now deep in debt, Lusix filed for temporary protection from creditors in August, and was just sold to two other lab-grown diamond companies.
Lod, Israel—Lusix, an Israel-based company that grew diamonds using solar power but wasn’t able to stay afloat amid falling prices, was just sold to two companies that plan to split up its production.
In a press release issued last week, Fenix and Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds announced that they have jointly acquired Lusix for $4 million, a move they said will bolster their respective positions as “environmentally minded” lab-grown diamond companies.
Founded in 2016 by Israeli inventor and entrepreneur Benny Landa, Lusix had a significant presence at the 2022 JCK Las Vegas show, touting the sustainability of its “Sun Grown Diamonds” created using the chemical vapor deposition process in a solar-powered factory outside Tel Aviv, Israel.
During the 2022 Vegas show, the company announced that it had just closed on a $90 million round of funding that included LVMH Luxury Ventures, LVMH’s private equity arm, though it would later come to light that this round of funding was less of a vote of confidence and more of a loan to a company that already was struggling.
According to a report published in September by Israeli tech and startup news website CTech, Lusix began feeling the pinch from more competition and lower lab-grown diamond prices in 2022, with revenue steadily declining and losses growing over the last two years.
Lusix filed for temporary protection from creditors in August, asking the court to freeze its debts to banks, a real estate company, and various suppliers while it figured out a path forward.
In their release issued last week, Fenix and Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds announced that they had emerged as the winning bidders for Lusix and would be jointly acquiring the company.
They said after offering “similar terms,” they ultimately decided to split the production between themselves, and Judge Irit Weinberg Nusowitz of the Central District Court in Lod, Israel, approved the deal.
Related stories will be right here …
In a press release issued last week, Fenix and Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds announced that they have jointly acquired Lusix for $4 million, a move they said will bolster their respective positions as “environmentally minded” lab-grown diamond companies.
Founded in 2016 by Israeli inventor and entrepreneur Benny Landa, Lusix had a significant presence at the 2022 JCK Las Vegas show, touting the sustainability of its “Sun Grown Diamonds” created using the chemical vapor deposition process in a solar-powered factory outside Tel Aviv, Israel.
During the 2022 Vegas show, the company announced that it had just closed on a $90 million round of funding that included LVMH Luxury Ventures, LVMH’s private equity arm, though it would later come to light that this round of funding was less of a vote of confidence and more of a loan to a company that already was struggling.
According to a report published in September by Israeli tech and startup news website CTech, Lusix began feeling the pinch from more competition and lower lab-grown diamond prices in 2022, with revenue steadily declining and losses growing over the last two years.
Lusix filed for temporary protection from creditors in August, asking the court to freeze its debts to banks, a real estate company, and various suppliers while it figured out a path forward.
In their release issued last week, Fenix and Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds announced that they had emerged as the winning bidders for Lusix and would be jointly acquiring the company.
They said after offering “similar terms,” they ultimately decided to split the production between themselves, and Judge Irit Weinberg Nusowitz of the Central District Court in Lod, Israel, approved the deal.
Fenix and Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds said they will keep Lusix’s research labs in Israel and continue to grow diamonds there for at least a year.
Of the company’s 23 employees, 10 will stay on for a minimum of six months, while the remaining 13 will be with Lusix for at least one year.
A spokesperson for Fenix said in the meantime, the teams from Fenix and Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds will be working on optimizing the new resources and understanding what the new capabilities will mean in the long run.
Fenix is based in New York with offices in Mumbai, Antwerp, and Hong Kong.
It has three diamond-growing factories in Surat, India, all 100 percent powered by renewable energy and SCS certified as being carbon neutral.
In the release announcing the acquisition, Fenix Managing Director Naman Parikh said, “The technological advancements that the Lusix acquisition brings aligns with our vision of remaining at the forefront of innovation. We want to offer our customers greater value through larger diamonds in a cost-effective manner.”
Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds’ flagship lab-grown diamond jewelry brand Craft, which also boasts a solar-powered growing process, is headquartered in New York with a design center and manufacturing facility in Mumbai and Surat, India.
Hasu Dholakia of Dholakia Lab-Grown Diamonds said the addition of Lusix will help the company expand production capacity and push the boundaries of lab-grown diamond innovation.
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