Botswana to double De Beers stake to 30%, backing Gareth Penny's consortium

Botswana will double its stake in De Beers to 30% and become the diamond company's largest shareholder under Anglo American's planned sale of the business, President Duma Boko said Monday as he backed a consortium led by former De Beers chief executive Gareth Penny.

The endorsement clears a central hurdle for the sale. Botswana holds a right of first refusal on Anglo's 85% stake, and Boko named Penny's Global Diamond Consortium as the government's preferred bidder in his State of the Nation address to parliament. Anglo put De Beers up for sale in 2024 as part of a wider restructuring.

Boko said Namibia and Angola would also take part, lifting Botswana from its current 15% holding. “Botswana will become the single largest shareholder,” he said, adding that the stake would bring more influence over strategic decisions.

De Beers Chief Executive Al Cook welcomed the plan in a statement to WWD and said Anglo is leading the sales process. Penny said the consortium is working with the governments of Botswana, Angola, Namibia and Oman and wants to finalize agreements with Anglo “as soon as possible.”

Richemont, the Swiss owner of Cartier, is among companies in talks to join the consortium, according to a Reuters report published by Mining.com.au. Jewelry maker Signet and several rough diamond buyers are also part of the talks, the report said.

The sale comes in a weak market. Anglo reported a 32% drop in rough diamond prices to $105 a carat in the first half of 2026, and De Beers posted a $113 million loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Miningmx reported. De Beers says it produces about one-third of the world's rough diamonds by value.

Boko also said Element Six, De Beers' synthetic diamond business, will take part in a planned $600 million synthetic diamond plant in the U.S. Anglo said Monday it would keep working with Botswana, other governments and the consortium toward binding transaction documents.