End of an era for South Africa’s most iconic company

Anglo American is set to sell its 85% stake in De Beers to a public-private consortium, which will likely include the governments of African countries where it mines its diamonds. 

These countries include Botswana, Angola, and Namibia. Only Botswana currently has a stake in the diamond miner of 15%, with Angola seeking around 20% to 30% of De Beers as part of the sale. 

Speaking to the Financial Times, Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad said the company is close to securing a deal with the governments and some private investors to sell its stake in De Beers. 

Wanblad told the publication that Anglo hopes to complete the sale of De Beers this year, despite a weak natural diamond market. 

The spin-off from the diversified miner would “almost certainly” see the government of Botswana increase its stake in De Beers from its current 15%, Wanblad told the newspaper.

Angola and Namibia have also expressed interest in buying stakes in De Beers, with Angolan officials telling reporters the government would like to take a 20% to 30% stake, according to the FT.

The sale of De Beers would mark the end of an era for Anglo American, whose fortunes have historically been closely tied to the company. 

However, as demand for natural diamonds has declined sharply amid a rise in lab-grown alternatives, Anglo’s crown jewel has lost its shine. 

Following BHP’s failed takeover bids for Anglo last year, the miner began reinventing itself to stave off any future attempts from rival miners to acquire it. 

Wanblad pledged significant reform, including the sale of its De Beers stake and Anglo American Platinum, which is now Valterra – the world’s largest platinum mining company. 

The sale of these two businesses, alongside its remaining coal assets, would turn Anglo into a business that would be unrecognisable to the Oppenheimer family that started the company in 1917. 

Dubbed Anglo 2.0 by some analysts, Wanblad’s reforms have seen Anglo become focused on high-quality industrial commodities, particularly copper and iron ore. 

This has made it highly attractive to other mining giants looking to increase their exposure to copper, as demand for the metal ramps up significantly. 

Canadian giant Teck Resources came knocking in 2025, with the merger between Anglo and Teck being a foregone conclusion. 

The companies have received approval from the Government of Canada for their merger, which will create a Canadian-headquartered mining giant. 

This deal will further reduce Anglo’s presence in South Africa, the country which saw its birth and formation into the world’s premier mining company. 

Over the past three decades, the company’s South African presence has been steadily reduced, with it moving its headquarters and primary listing to London in 1999. 

It has also disposed of many of its South African assets more recently. Its coal assets have been separated into Thungela and Amplats into Valterra. 

Adding De Beers to this list leaves Kumba Iron Ore as Anglo’s last major asset in South Africa, with the company now being a copper giant.

De Beers dilemma

Anglo’s sale of its De Beers stake has not been easy, with the company having to contend with the largest disruption of the diamond market in a century. 

The rise of manmade diamonds has decimated the price of natural alternatives, with them sharing the same characteristics. This makes them attractive for some jewellers and particularly for industrial users of diamonds. 

Anglo has written down the value of De Beers by billions of dollars over the past two years due to declining diamond sales and falling prices. Earlier in 2026, De Beers announced it would cut diamond prices again, repeating a cut in 2024, to try to boost demand. 

For the first time in over a century, De Beers has lost its stranglehold on diamond supply due to the rise of man-made alternatives. 

This has made the company an incredibly tough sell for Anglo, with little to no interest from other mining companies.

The Botswana government and Angola declared their interest in Anglo’s stake fairly early on, with these two countries being among the largest diamond producers in the world. 

De Beers gets around 70% of its diamonds from Botswana, with Bloomberg reporting that the government still wants to take a controlling stake in the company despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF warned against the Botswana government’s proposed purchase in late 2025, saying the diamond market’s prolonged slump makes it a risky undertaking. 

However, President Duma Boko has reiterated Botswana’s plan to take control of De Beers. “We want to take a bigger share and become the real owners,” Bloomberg reported him as saying in December 2025. 

“Diamonds are not selling due to the process being used, and we have to overhaul it. That’s why we are saying these diamonds are ours and we want to control them.”

Angola’s offer to buy Anglo’s stake comes as it has surpassed Botswana as Africa’s largest diamond producer in recent years. 

Angola wants access to De Beers’ modern mining technology, which is likely to make operations in the country more efficient and profitable. 

Botswana has said it is open to collaboration regarding a deal with Angola to take control of De Beers. 

In addition to African governments, there are reports that investor groups led by former De Beers executives have shown interest in buying the company.

The Oppenheimers no longer hold stakes in Anglo American or De Beers. Nicky Oppenheimer, led the family’s 2011 sale of its $5.1 billion holding in the diamond miner.