Rapaport Research Report: Buying De Beers

Apart from “A Diamond Is Forever,” beacon campaigns, marketing, research, lobbying, social and environmental stewardship, traceability, and supply control, what has De Beers ever done for us?

The reference is to the 1979 British comedy, Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The leader of the People’s Front of Judea asks what good has ever come from their occupiers and enemies, the Romans. To his shock, faction members in the room start calling out positives: the aqueduct, the sanitation, the roads, education, and more.

That’s how the industry sometimes sounds. Traders enjoy criticizing the world’s most famous and influential diamond miner, which, despite its market share shrinking, is still the largest by value.

Some complaints are understandable. De Beers, which essentially built the modern diamond industry, has scaled back its category marketing over the last 20 years, leaving a massive gap that enabled synthetics to thrive. The company’s Lightbox lab-grown venture, which it closed last year, drew accusations that De Beers was damaging its own industry. The 2025 policy of offloading weaker rough inventory at discounts to select customers in bulk attracted the ire of those that were still paying full prices.

But life without De Beers as we know it would be hard. The company’s historical contribution to the wider industry is well known. Even since reducing its generic marketing, the company continues to lead the industry with promotional initiatives, such as the current Desert diamonds campaign. Its sightholder system gives manufacturers consistent supply, with strategies to avoid flooding the market in downturns (notwithstanding last year’s exception).

As Anglo American works to sell its 85% stake in De Beers, the industry is facing the possibility of yet more change. The diamond company has recorded underlying losses in each of the past three years, reflecting lower sales volumes and rough prices. The future owner may strip out everything that doesn’t create direct profit, eschewing the miner’s role as industry custodian.

A deadline to submit bids to buy De Beers passed on April 16. As we reported earlier this month, one of the possible outcomes would see midstream members themselves take a small share in the miner. This would raise a lot of uncertainties, as will be the case whichever party is successful.

This issue of the Rapaport Research Report investigates who is likely to acquire the company and why, the reasons it has taken two years to find a suitor, and what the eventual deal could mean for sightholders and the trade. Will the sector find itself missing the days when De Beers still gave it infrastructure?

Subscribers can access the full edition of the Rapaport Research Report below or here.

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This month’s issue includes:

• An analysis of Anglo American’s sale process for De Beers and what the deal might mean for the diamond industry.​
• An in-depth look at inventory trends in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel and Belgium following the start of the Iran war.
• Exclusive RapNet data for 0.30-, 0.50-, 1- and 3-carat diamonds.​​

How the De Beers Sale Could Affect the Trade

Almost two years have passed since Anglo American announced it was putting its 85% stake in De Beers up for sale. The fact that the mining conglomerate no longer wanted a part in the diamond industry did not help the mood of a sector trying to recover from successive downturns.