Johann Rupert’s Richemont undecided on De Beers bid

South African billionaire Johann Rupert’s Richemont has not decided whether to join the consortium bidding for a majority stake in De Beers, the diamond miner and jeweler that Anglo American put up for sale in 2024.

Reports had linked Richemont and US jeweler Signet to the Global Diamond Consortium, led by former De Beers chief executive Gareth Penny. The group wants to buy Anglo American’s 85% holding in the business.

Speaking on Friday after Richemont’s first-half results, Rupert, the group’s founder and chairman, did not mention De Beers by name. “In terms of possible acquisitions, we haven’t made our mind up about anything,” he said. He added that any diamond investment would not make a meaningful difference to the group’s balance sheet or profit and loss. Richemont CEO Nicolas Bos declined to comment on the reported plans, and Signet also declined to comment on a potential deal.

At least one backer has already stepped forward. Botswana’s president, Duma Boko, said in his State of the Nation address earlier this week that he endorsed Penny’s bid. He announced plans to double the country’s De Beers stake to 30%, which would make it the largest shareholder, and said Namibia and Angola would also take part. Boko said the diamond-producing nations would, for the first time, sit together at the ownership table of the company that markets their stones. De Beers CEO Al Cook said he was “delighted” by Botswana’s decision.

Anglo American’s sale is part of a wider effort to simplify its portfolio and focus on copper and premium iron ore. When it announced the plan in 2024, it said it would sell or demerge the diamond business to gain “strategic flexibility.” Anglo has held a stake in De Beers since the 1920s and took full control in 2011.

De Beers spans mining, marketing and retail, and says it produces about one-third of the world’s rough diamonds by value. It also owns the De Beers London jewelers, which has 24 stores worldwide.