The owner of Cartier, Switzerland’s Richemont, and the American jewellery company Signet are reportedly in discussions to join a consortium competing to acquire De Beers, the historic diamond mining company currently being sold by Anglo American. The consortium, known as the Global Diamond Consortium (GDC), is led by Gareth Penny, who formerly managed De Beers from 2006 to 2010, and includes the governments of Angola, Botswana, and Namibia.

Under the consortium’s proposed structure, private companies would control 51 percent of De Beers, while the three diamond-producing nations would hold the remaining 49 percent. Botswana is also engaged in talks to increase its current 15 percent stake in De Beers to 25 percent, signaling stronger involvement from the African governments in the potential deal.

The interest from Richemont and Signet, both significant customers of De Beers, has been seen by analysts at RBC Capital Markets as potentially beneficial for the natural diamond sector. They suggested that the participation of these companies could help stabilize and improve consumer perceptions of natural diamonds, particularly amid increasing competition from lab-grown diamonds, which are generally less expensive and have gained significant market share.

Anglo American first announced its plans in May 2024 to divest De Beers as part of a broader effort to restructure the FTSE 100 mining group and fend off a $49 billion hostile takeover bid by BHP, the world’s largest mining company. The sale of De Beers is expected to be the final major transaction in this restructuring process, following Anglo American's earlier agreement to sell its Australian steelmaking coal mines to the London-based company Dhilmar for up to $3.9 billion.

The timing of the sale has been delayed due to a prolonged slump in diamond prices and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a region where many potential investors for De Beers are based. De Beers has faced significant financial challenges, including a write-down of $2.3 billion last year that halved its valuation. These impairment charges have contributed to Anglo American posting a loss of $3.7 billion. The company had also recorded impairment charges of $2.9 billion in early 2024 and $1.6 billion in 2023.

Beyond GDC, two other groups are reportedly in contention to acquire De Beers. One is led by Australian mining veteran Michael O’Keeffe, and the other by Israeli diamond trader Nir Livnat. It remains unclear what role Gareth Penny might assume if GDC succeeds in the bid.

Neither Anglo American nor GDC provided comments on the reported talks. Attempts to reach Richemont and Signet for confirmation were also unsuccessful. Anglo American shares closed down 0.5 percent at £40.60 following the news.