Luxury jeweler Fabergé sells to tech investors for $50 million deal | merger and acquisition

Jeweler Fabergé is known for his empire Russian Easter eggs and has been sold to technology investors in a $50 million (£37 million) deal.

Gemfields, a colored gemstone in Africa, has agreed to sell Fabergé to SMG Capital, a U.S. investment firm controlled by technology backer Sergei Mosunov.

The struggling miner acquired Fabergé from private equity firm Pallinghurst for $142 million in 2013, and its political unrest in Mozambique prompted its temporary freeze on Ruby Mine.

Founded in 1842 and taken over and transformed by Peter Carl Fabergé in 1882, Fabergé is one of the most famous jewelers in the world, but is under pressure due to the downturn in the luxury market. It earned $13.4 million in 2024, down from $15.7 million the previous year.

Gemfields CEO Sean Gilbertson described the deal as “the end of the era.”

“Fabergé played a key role in improving the image of the colored gems mined by Gemfields, and we are sure to miss its marketing leverage and star power,” he said.

It is an “at privilege … to be the custodian of such an outstanding and globally recognized brand.” Mosunov is a Russian country in the United Kingdom.

“With connections with Russia, England, France and the United States, Fabergé’s unique heritage opens up a great opportunity to further strengthen its position in the global luxury market and expand its international presence,” he said.

Fabergé is famous for its gorgeous eggs made for the Russian royal family before the 1917 Revolution. When Tsar Alexander III first commissioned them as gifts for his wife Tsarina Maria Feodorovna in 1885, the jeweler began making Imperial Easter eggs.

During the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks seized Fabrg’s seminar and closed production. The family fled to Europe to Germany, Finland and Switzerland.

The brand was revived in various iterations of the 20th century and sold in 1984 for $180 million. Three years later, it acquired the Elizabeth Arden brand for $700 million. In 1989, consumer goods group Unilever purchased Fabergé for $15.5 billion. The brand was re-launched by the Fabergé family in 2009.

Fabergé is known for its millions of pounds of Easter eggs Payment worth up to £52 million at auction in 2004it has many other high-value collector ranges, as well as jewelry and watches.

This spring, the Howard Fabergé castle was auctioned, a series of animal models carved from stones such as topaz and kidney gypsum.

Gemfields said it will use the proceeds of the sale to help its mining operations in Mozambique and Zambia.

The miner’s stock is a dual stake in the London Junior Stock Market and the Johannesburg Exchange, and its stock peak has dropped by about 70% due to miners’ oversupply struggles in the jade market. The company told investors in June that a new mining industry in Mozambique was postponed due to problems with illegal mining and work permits.