Mthobisi Nozulela|Published
Billionaire Johann Rupert’s luxury group Richemont and US jewellery retailer Signet Jewelers are in talks to join a consortium seeking to buy De Beers from Anglo American.
According to Bloomberg, the two companies are considering minority stakes in the consortium, led by former De Beers chief executive Gareth Penny.
Richemont, founded by Rupert in 1988, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods group whose brands include Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Vacheron Constantin.
Its jewellery division accounts for about three-quarters of its business, making it a major player in the luxury jewellery market and an important buyer of natural diamonds.
Signet Jewelers is a major US jewellery retailer that owns brands including Zales, Jared and Kay. Both companies operate downstream in the diamond industry, selling jewellery to consumers.
The proposed deal comes as De Beers faces pressure from falling diamond prices, weaker demand in China and growing competition from lab-grown stones. Anglo American has been seeking to sell the diamond miner as part of a broader restructuring of its business.
The consortium, known as Global Diamond Consortium, was named Anglo American’s preferred bidder in July. It includes Namibia and Angola, while Botswana is in talks to increase its stake in De Beers to about 25%.
De Beers cuts costs amid weaker diamond demand
Earlier this year, IOL also reported that De Beers said it will pause production at Venetia mine in Limpopo, South Africa’s biggest diamond mine employing about 4,400 staff, for two years to reduce costs.
The proposed action at Venetia mine follows the decision earlier this year to pause the Tuzo Phase 3 expansion project at the Gahcho Kué mine in Canada.
De Beers is majority-owned by Anglo American, which is in turn seeking to offload its shareholding as the natural diamond market faces intense pressure from laboratory-grown gems and slower demand, and as Anglo is itself merging with Canada-based Teck Resources, both of which are focusing heavily on copper mining due to its surging demand from the global energy transition.
IOL