The right stems from a deal struck last year in which Anglo American, a 45 percent shareholder in De Beers, agreed to buyout the Oppenheimer family's 40 percent stake for $5.1 billion (P36.5 billion) in cash.Under the terms of the agreement, the Botswana government had the right to take up its pro-rata share of the Oppenheimer stake, which would have lifted its stake in De Beers to 25 percent, and leave Anglo American with a 75 percent stake in De Beers.
"The government of the Republic of Botswana wishes to announce its decision not to take up its pre-emptive rights to acquire an additional shareholding in De Beers, following the receipt of a formal pre-emption offer from the Central Holdings Limited. "The $1.275 billion which is equivalent to about P9.8 billion represents about 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a large cost for a country whose government budget is still in deficit, and is trying to bring the budget to balance within a year and a half," the Ministry of Minerals Energy and Water Resources announced in a statement. Botswana's annual GDP currently stands at just above P100 billion.
