Fipke Holdings has decided to abandon the litigation against Harry Winston's proposed acquisiton of the Ekati diamond mine.
Fipke, a minority stakeholder in the mine, had filed a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against BHP Billiton Canada, citing non-compliance with joint venture agreements.
Harry Winston had proposed to acquire the 80% interest in the core zone joint venture and a 58.8% interest in the buffer zone joint venture in the Ekati diamond venture in Canada for $500m.
Fipke, which owns a 10% stake in Ekati, discontinued the action, leaving Harry Winston a free passage to proceed with the acquisition.
"Harry Winston has been advised by BHP Billiton that all of its joint venture partners have agreed to waive their rights of first refusal in respect of the sale by BHP Billiton to Harry Winston pursuant to their existing purchase agreements," the company said in a statement.
The transaction is, however, subject to certain closing conditions that include regulatory approvals.