Botswana and a consortium leading the race to acquire De Beers are close to agreeing on their future ownership stakes, potentially clearing the way for Anglo American to exit the diamond miner, according to Bloomberg.
The Global Diamond Consortium, headed by former De Beers chief executive Gareth Penny, emerged in July as preferred bidder. Reaching an agreement with Botswana, where De Beers’ most important mines are based and whose government holds a 15% stake, had remained a hurdle to any deal.
The consortium and Botswana are now nearing an agreement on the size of their stakes, people familiar with the matter said. While precise details are unclear, the agreement is likely to see Botswana increase its stake to around 25%, some of the people said.
Talks are ongoing and no agreement has been finalised.
GDC also includes Namibia and Angola, two of the largest diamond-producing nations. Anglo has discussed selling De Beers for about $1 billion, Bloomberg reported in July, a fraction of its former worth.
Anglo, GDC and Botswana’s presidential office declined to comment.
Anglo has been looking to sell the one-time diamond monopoly since fending off an almost $50 billion approach from BHP Group in early 2024.
The process has been stymied by a crisis in the diamond market.
Anglo has taken three impairments on the business in three years, lowering its carrying value to $2.3 billion in February.
Botswana’s government said in July that Anglo had selected GDC as preferred bidder. If an agreement progresses, Botswana, Angola and Namibia together will hold less than 50% of De Beers, the people said.
That would keep De Beers under the control of private investors, a key condition for some consortium backers.
Accepting a larger yet still minority stake would mark a departure from previous remarks by Botswana President Duma Boko, who had said the country wanted majority control.
Last month, Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe told Bloomberg TV that “whatever the number is, it is more than 15%,” when asked what size shareholding the state sought.
For Anglo, an agreement would allow the potential sale to progress to final stages, clearing one of the last obstacles in a process that has dragged on for more than two years. The sale comes amid one of the diamond industry’s deepest crises, with prices plunging after the pandemic and a collapse in Chinese luxury spending.
The rise of synthetic stones, trade tensions and geopolitical shifts have added further pain.
The market has shown some signs of recovery in recent months, making the timing of any deal potentially beneficial for bidders. There will also be additional payments based on the performance of the business after the sale completes, Bloomberg reported. Botswana also holds a 50% interest in Debswana, its mining joint venture with De Beers that produces most of the country’s diamonds.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
