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Angola is upping its interest in De Beers from its previous ask of a minority stake to an offer to purchase owner Anglo American’s entire majority share.
The move will help state-owned diamond producer Endiama compete with other bids for De Beers, including those from former CEOs Gareth Penny, leading a Qatari investment fund, and a consortium Bruce Cleaver put together. Australian mining veteran Michael O’Keeffe and Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal are also in the running, as is Botswana, which already owns a 15% stake in the miner.
Endiama presented “a concrete and well-defined proposal” and is now moving ahead with its bid, Bloomberg quoted its CEO, José Manuel Ganga Júnior, as saying on Friday. He declined to provide further details, as did Anglo American, Bloomberg reported.
Last month, Angola expressed its desire to acquire a minority stake in De Beers, calling for a Pan-African consortium together with Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Angola already has ties to De Beers, as the Anglo-owned miner has an exploration joint venture with Endiama, for which it announced in August it had found its first new kimberlite field in three decades in the country. However, as an existing De Beers shareholder, Botswana has the right to match any offers from outside parties.
Anglo American has been looking for a buyer for De Beers since May 2024, when it announced it would sell the diamond-mining giant as part of a strategy to unlock value in its business and focus on its core portfolio. The move came following a prolonged downturn in the diamond market stemming from softening demand, competition from lab-grown, tariffs, and a general luxury downturn.
Image: The De Beers sightholder office. (De Beers)
