The prospective sale of De Beers was clearly on the minds of attendees at this week’s Mining Indaba conference, with Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad calling the process “relatively far advanced,” an Angolan minister discussing what his country wants, and former De Beers chief Gareth Penny (pictured) spelling out his ideas for the company.
Wanblad told the Financial Times that he hopes Anglo’s 85% stake in De Beers will be sold sometime this year, with the buyer most likely some form of public-private partnership. Any deal will “almost certainly” include Botswana boosting its current 15% stake in De Beers, Wanblad said.
Meanwhile, Paulo Tanganha, national director of mineral resources for a different diamond-producing nation, Angola, told Reuters that his country hopes to purchase 20% to 30% of De Beers, a change from previous reports that Angola was seeking majority ownership.
“Taking the majority stake within luxury commodities is very dangerous because it depends on the market,” Tanganha said. “So to de-risk that, we have to have a portion that is sustainable for our economy.”
He added that “closed-door talks” about the De Beers sale were continuing with other diamond-producing countries, including Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia.
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Main Photo : LinkedIn
Source : JCK Online