Consortium led by Gareth Penny is the top bidder to acquire De Beers, reports say

Anglo American chose a consortium led by Gareth Penny, former De Beers CEO, as the top candidate to buy the company, Moeti Mohwasa, Botswana’s minister for state president, defense and security announced today.

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

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

The April edition of the Rapaport Intelligence Report noted that other potential buyers are Bruce Cleaver, another former De Beers CEO, Michael O’Keeffe, Australian mining veteran, Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal and Indian diamond manufacturers KGK Group and Kapu Gems.

Botswana is also a key player in acquiring the business since they already have a 15% stake in the company alongside Namibia, Angola and a few private buyers, according to Reuters.

The country 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.

It’s likely that the new buyer will want to uphold De Beers’ reputation for combining various sectors of the industry from mining to natural diamond marketing. Additionally, they are likely banking on the fact that natural diamond pricing will increase once again.

Mohwasa said the sale will likely be finalized in the last quarter of 2026, which is subject to change by many different factors including the approval of Botswana’s government, Reuters reported.

Main image: Ben Perry/Armoury Films/De Beers