Botswana Raises Stake in De Beers to 30%, Names Diamond Consortium Preferred Bidder

Key Facts

Botswana President Duma Boko announced on November 9 that he had selected the World Diamond Consortium as the preferred bidder for Anglo American’s stake in De Beers, and said the government’s stake in the company would rise to 30%, Reuters reported. The decision backs the consortium’s bid to buy the 85% stake Anglo American put up for sale. The announcement moves the deal from an expected nomination to a declared selection, but does not settle the sale terms or its completion. Boko also said the governments of Namibia and Angola would participate in the deal, broadening the group of government parties involved. The financial consideration and binding documents remain under negotiation between the parties.

The level of confirmation differs between the decision to select a preferred buyer and Botswana’s increased stake, on the one hand, and the financial details in circulation, on the other. Rapaport reported, citing a source close to the matter, that the expected preliminary terms include an upfront payment of 750 million dollars and a deferred payment of 250 million dollars for Anglo American’s stake. Those figures are attributed to the source and were not included in Reuters’ report on Boko’s decision. They therefore do not represent a publicly announced final deal value or evidence that a binding agreement has been completed. Rapaport said Anglo American, Botswana and the consortium would enter a period of negotiations on the details and resolution of outstanding differences following the presentation of the preliminary terms. This leaves the implementation provisions and final financial consideration open to negotiation.

The consortium is led by Gareth Penny, De Beers’ former chief executive, and Rapaport said the group had been at the forefront of the acquisition effort for several months. It said its leading backers in the diamond trade are Pluczenik and Diarough, both industry buyers. The participation of Scent Group and Richemont has not been confirmed in the information reported on the deal. Reuters, by contrast, confirmed the participation of the governments of Namibia and Angola, distinguishing their involvement from the company names reported as possible additions. The investor makeup and each party’s contribution remain among the details that could become clear in upcoming negotiations.

The deal is entering negotiations as De Beers faces pressure on prices and revenue. The company’s average realized price fell 32% to 105 dollars per carat in the first half of 2026, compared with 155 dollars in the corresponding period of 2025. The company attributed the decline to a higher share of lower-value stones in its sales mix, as well as a 16% drop in the rough diamond price index. Revenue fell to 1.6 billion dollars from 2 billion dollars in the first half of 2025, despite a 13% increase in aggregated rough diamond sales volume to 12.4 million carats, from 11 million. The figures show that volume growth did not offset lower prices and their effect on revenue during the period.

On the production side, De Beers increased rough diamond output 46% to 14.9 million carats in the first half of 2026. The company attributed the increase mainly to the effect of earlier extended maintenance at the Orapa mine and the planned release of ore at the Gahcho Kué mine in Canada. It kept its full-year production forecast at a range of 21 to 26 million carats, while expecting the annual production rate to decline in the second half. It said planned maintenance at Orapa and Jwaneng and a proposed production shutdown at Venetia in the second half would affect the pace of output. The company also expected rough diamond trading to remain challenging in the near term, particularly in lower-value categories, while global production is expected to decline over the coming years.

These developments come as demand in China has weakened. De Beers said trading conditions remained weak and that it did not expect a marked recovery in the near term. At the retail level, global diamond jewellery sales were flat year on year in the first half of 2026. Anglo American put De Beers up for sale in 2024 as part of a broader restructuring, against a backdrop of falling diamond prices and rising demand for lab-grown diamonds, Reuters reported. The asset’s importance to Botswana also reflects the country’s reliance on the diamond sector. In a report published in December 2025, the International Monetary Fund projected that economic activity would continue to contract that year, as diamond output and non-mining activity declined. Penny said the consortium was focused on completing agreements with Anglo American as soon as possible, while the company said it was working with Botswana, other governments and the consortium on binding transaction documents.