Anglo American has identified a consortium led by Gareth Penny as the ‘preferred bidder’ to sell its diamond business

Moeti Mohwasa, the Botswana minister for state and defence, said that the Global Diamond Consortium, led by Penny, had been “identified” as a “preferred bidder” by Anglo American, in the clearest signal yet that a deal is close to being reached. Anglo American declined to confirm the minister’s comments, saying only that it was “progressing the competitive sale process with several bidders and will provide updates at the appropriate time”.

De Beers said this week that it would halt production at South Africa’s biggest diamond mine, in response to depressed conditions in the market for the precious stones. Persistently low prices for natural gemstones have come amid lower demand in China and tough competition from lab-grown diamonds, which are much cheaper to produce and buy

Mohwasa told lawmakers on Friday that the government was in the process of doing a detailed analysis to “determine the value” of De Beers, which he said would inform the country’s talks with Anglo American and its “potential sovereign and private sector partners”. The governments of Angola and Namibia have both also expressed interest in buying a stake in the company.  Mohwasa said that Global Diamond’s pitch “envisages participation” by Angola and Namibia, which the government of Botswana “welcomes”.

People close to Global Diamond have indicated that any successful bid would still be contingent on their agreeing to suitable terms with sovereign partners.