Anglo American的De Beers出售进程接近锁定优先竞标方

Anglo American poised to sell De Beers diamond business to former CEO
Anglo American has identified a consortium led by former De Beers chief executive Gareth Penny as its top candidate to buy its diamond business, according to a Botswanan minister.
Moeti Mohwasa, the Botswana minister for state and defence, told lawmakers on Friday that the Global Diamond Consortium, led by Penny, had been “identified” as a “preferred bidder” by Anglo American, in the clearest signal yet a deal is close to being reached.
Botswana has emerged as a key player in the sale of De Beers, one of the world’s most famous and valuable gemstone companies.
Around 70 per cent of De Beers’ diamonds come from the country, and the nation’s government has been vocal in wanting to up its 15 per cent stake in the group.
Penny ran De Beers from 2006 to 2010, and has been tipped for some time as the frontrunner, according to two people familiar with the matter. Penny declined to comment on Friday.
Anglo American declined to confirm the minister’s comments, saying only that it was “progressing the competitive sale process with a number of bidders and will provide updates at the appropriate time”.
Nir Livnat, executive chair of the Diacore Group diamond business, and Michael O’Keeffe, non-executive chair of Burgundy Diamond Mines, are leading two other consortiums in the process, according to people familiar with the process.
De Beers said this week that it would halt production at South Africa’s biggest diamond mine, in response to depressed conditions in the market for the precious stones.
Persistently low prices for natural gemstones have come in the context of lower demand in China as well as tough competition from lab-grown diamonds, which are much cheaper to make and buy.
WWW International Diamond Consultants’ rough diamond price index is down about 50 per cent from the record highs of 2022.
Mohwasa told lawmakers on Friday that the government was in the process of doing a detailed analysis to “determine the value” of De Beers, which he said would inform the country’s talks with Anglo American and its “potential sovereign and private sector partners”.
The governments of Angola and Namibia have both also expressed interest in buying a stake in the company.
Mohwasa said that Global Diamond’s pitch “envisages participation” by Angola and Namibia, which the government of Botswana “welcomes”.
People close to Global Diamond have indicated that any successful bid would still be contingent on them managing to agree suitable terms with sovereign partners.