RICHEMONT and US jewellery retailer Signet Jewelers are in advanced talks to join the consortium that is in pole position to buy De Beers from Anglo American, Bloomberg reported.
Global Diamond Consortium, led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny, emerged in July as the preferred bidder for Anglo’s diamond business. The consortium already includes Namibia and Angola, as well as major diamond manufacturers.
Richemont, controlled by South African billionaire Johann Rupert, owns brands including Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Signet owns jewellery chains including Zales, Jared and Kay.
People familiar with the talks said there was no guarantee either company would ultimately join the consortium. The size of any stakes under discussion is also unclear, although they are expected to be relatively small given the number of investors already involved.
Botswana, which already owns 15% of De Beers, is in talks to increase its stake to about 25%.
The potential involvement of Richemont and Signet would give the consortium heavyweight support from two major jewellery groups at a time when the natural diamond industry is trying to recover from a prolonged downturn.
Diamond producers have been hit by weaker Chinese luxury spending, falling prices and growing competition from lab-grown stones.
Anglo put De Beers up for sale after rejecting BHP’s takeover approach in 2024.
The disposal has been complicated by the diamond market slump, with Anglo taking three impairments on De Beers in three years. Its carrying value was cut to $2.3 billion in February.