Botswana commits to bigger De Beers stake

Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday November 11, 2026 06:00

The announcement by President Duma Boko in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday brings to an end long-running speculation that erupted after Anglo American announced it would divest its 85% stake in De Beers two years ago.

“Botswana will become the single largest shareholder in De Beers and with that, comes greater influence in the strategic decisions for decades to come,” said Boko. “Botswana will not stand alone; our neighbours and friends, the Republic of Angola and the Republic of Namibia, will take part in this transaction beside us. “For the first time, the great diamond-producing nations of our region will sit together at the ownership table of the company that markets their diamonds, united by a shared belief that local resources should bring local prosperity.”

Boko did not provide details on how the stake would be financed, but said the decision had been taken with “exceptional care”. Bloomberg reported in July that Anglo had discussed selling its 85% stake for about one billion dollars (P13.74 billion), a fraction of what the business was once worth.

De Beers has taken a knock in its fortunes in recent years, starting with an unexpected downturn in the Chinese market, global economic uncertainty and the encroachment of synthetics, particularly amongst smaller sizes of stones.

Government, De Beers and other African producers such as South Africa, Angola, and Namibia last year jointly agreed to fund a global marketing campaign to resuscitate demand for the precious stones.

Minerals and Energy minister, Bogolo Kenewendo, recently told Mmegi that natural diamond sales in the world’s most important market, the United States, were up by as much as six percent this year, following two years of contraction. Debswana, the country’s main diamond producer owned equally by government and De Beers, has also announced an uptick in production this year, with higher targets for the full year.

Boko revealed that the investment in De Beers was also targeted at its Element Six subsidiary, which piloted and continues to be a global leader in the production of synthetics for industrial use.

“As the world builds superintelligence and vast data centres, demand for high-technology synthetic diamonds will surge. “The Government of the United States has asked Element Six to partner in developing this technology. “To this end, President Trump has announced a new $600 million joint facility in Georgia. “In my discussions with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, we agreed that Element Six can stand at the heart of a new technology partnership between our two countries,” said Boko.

Government’s decision on the stake to take in De Beers clears the way for the finalisation of the deal, with Global Diamond Consortium selected by Botswana as the preferred bidder for the transaction.

Boko explained that Botswana would be the single largest shareholder in De Beers at the end of the transaction.

“This deal, in the manner I've described it, with us as the single largest shareholder, with all the attendant rights and protections, we are holders of the controlling stake,” he said.