Anglo Picks Gareth Penny-Led Consortium as Top De Beers Bidder – Reports

Anglo American has chosen a consortium led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny as the top candidate to buy the diamond company, a Botswana official reportedly announced on Friday.

“Anglo American ran a competitive process involving three shortlisted bidders, and has since identified a preferred bidder, the Global Diamond Consortium,” said Moeti Mohwasa, minister for state president, defense and security, according to Reuters.

The Global Diamond Consortium is led by Penny, according to Bloomberg and the Financial Times.

Anglo American put De Beers up for sale in May 2024 as a part of a larger restructuring plan and due to a decrease in diamond prices, among other factors.

The April edition of the Rapaport Research Report (now the Rapaport Intelligence Report) noted that other potential buyers were Nir Livnat, executive chairman of Switzerland-based sightholder Diacore, and Michael O’Keeffe, nonexecutive chair of Burgundy Diamond Mines.

Penny has senior diamond-industry members backing his bid, including leaders at Antwerp-based sightholders Diarough and Pluczenik, Rapaport News reported at the time. Rosy Blue was also a potential participant.

Botswana, which owns 15% of De Beers, has “complete ⁠freedom to proceed either alongside the preferred bidder as a partner or to exercise its preemption rights alone or with a third party,” Mohwasa stated, according to Reuters. Namibia and Angola have also expressed interest in the business alongside private buyers.

Mohwasa said the sale would likely be finalized in the last quarter of 2026, subject to factors including the approval of Botswana’s government, Reuters reported.

Image: De Beers’ Global Sightholder Sales office in Gaborone, Botswana. (Ben Perry/Armoury Films/De Beers)