Botswana and Angola consider joint approach in race for De Beers

De Beers sources about 70% of its diamonds from Botswana.(Image courtesy of Anglo American | Flickr.)

Botswana and Angola’s mining ministers met in Gaborone on Friday as both countries position themselves to acquire De Beers, the diamond unit Anglo American is selling amid a major corporate restructuring.

Botswana’s mines minister Bogolo Joy Kenewendo and Angola’s mineral resources minister Diamantino Pedro Azevedo held a closed-door discussion of roughly 40 minutes, then spoke briefly to reporters. They said talks covered cooperation in the diamond sector and wider issues such as energy and logistics but gave no further details.

Their meeting fuelled speculation that the two nations might pursue a split ownership or other cooperative arrangement to secure control of De Beers, potentially forming an alliance between two of Africa’s largest diamond producers.

Kenewendo said the talks focused on boosting the diamond industry’s performance and collaborating to restore its strength, adding that it is natural for leading producers to coordinate to maximise value from the resource.

Botswana, which owns a 15 percent stake in De Beers through the Debswana joint venture and supplies about 70 percent of the company’s rough diamonds, regards De Beers as a strategic asset. A prolonged slump in global diamond prices has strained Botswana’s economy and increased its interest in achieving greater control over the company.

Angola initially proposed a pan‑African consortium of diamond-producing countries to co-own De Beers but in October submitted a bid for a majority stake on its own, setting the stage for a potential rivalry with Botswana.

In a symbolic shift, Angola overtook Botswana in 2024 to become Africa’s top diamond producer by value for the first time in two decades, according to the Kimberley Process.

Anglo American holds an 85 percent stake in De Beers and values the business at about $5 billion, though UBS analysts estimate a final sale price could be nearer $3–4 billion given current market softness.

The sale has attracted at least six potential bidders, including investor groups led by former De Beers executives Gareth Penny and Bruce Cleaver, Indian companies KGK Group and Kapu Gems, Qatari investment funds, and billionaire Anil Agarwal.