Botswana’s president reaffirmed his intention to acquire a majority stake in De Beers, as Anglo American Plc considers selling its controlling interest in the renowned diamond company.
“The government will pursue a majority stake,” Duma Boko stated Monday during an annual address in Gaborone, Botswana’s capital. “Concrete steps are underway to acquire Anglo-American shares in De Beers.”
Anglo is selling its 85 per cent stake in De Beers as part of a restructuring that began nearly 18 months ago. Botswana, which owns the remaining shares, depends on diamonds for about 80 per cent of its exports.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Anglo is divesting from De Beers due to a prolonged slump in the diamond market and competition from affordable lab-grown stones. Most of the company’s diamonds come from Botswana, where the downturn has heavily impacted the commodity. Nonetheless, diamonds remain crucial to the economy, according to the president.
“While our administration is working to diversify the mining sector, diamonds will continue to play a key role in driving economic growth and transformation for our country,” Boko added.
In September, the president told Bloomberg he aimed to finalize a deal for the state to secure a majority stake in De Beers by the end of October. He noted that Botswana was in discussions with several parties, including an Omani sovereign wealth fund, to help finance the acquisition.
However, Botswana competition for the De Beers stake. The CEO of Angola’s state-owned diamond company, Endiama EP, informed Bloomberg last month that his firm had offered to purchase Anglo’s entire stake.
Following a meeting last week between the two nations’ mineral ministers in Gaborone, the Angolan official mentioned that both countries were “perfectly aligned” on De Beers and focused on boosting demand for natural diamonds.
Former De Beers executives leading investor groups have also expressed interest in acquiring the diamond giant since the formal sales process began in June.
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