Exclusive-Angola seeks 20%-30% stake in De Beers, senior official says

By Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Angola is pursuing a 20%-30% stake in Anglo American's diamond unit De Beers, a proposal being discussed with other diamond-producing African nations, a senior official from Angola's mining ministry told Reuters on Sunday. De Beers, one of the world's leading diamond companies with operations spanning Botswana, Namibia, Angola, South Africa and Canada, has been put up for sale by Anglo amid falling diamond prices and the global rise of synthetic diamonds. Angola submitted a bid for a majority stake in De Beers in October 2025, though it had initially sought a minority stake. "Taking the majority stake within luxury commodities is very dangerous because it depends on the market," Paulo Tanganha, Angola's national director of mineral resources, told Reuters on the sidelines of an African mining conference in Cape Town. "So to de-risk that, we have to have a portion that is sustainable for our economy. And that range (is) between 20% and 30%, we are happy about that." NEIGHBOURS HOLD CLOSED-DOOR TALKS Angola's bid for a majority stake in De Beers had set the country up for a potential bidding war with Botswana, which owns 15% of De Beers and has said it was working on acquiring a majority stake in the company. Tanganha said closed-door talks were continuing between Botswana, Angola, Namibia and South Africa to seek a common position on how each country would benefit from having a stake in De Beers, with no agreement yet reached. "There is a saying: together we are stronger. That's the way we are doing it. And if my neighbour is suffering, I also suffer. So we have to be together and fight together as a team," Tanganha said. For Angola, state-owned diamond miner Endiama and its national diamond trading company Sodiam would take up the stake in De Beers on behalf of the government, Tanganha said. Tanganha did not disclose how Angola would fund the De Beers stake acquisition but said the country had many sources of funding. Anglo said on Thursday it was reviewing the value of the De Beers diamonds business after its 2025 rough diamond production dropped. Last year, De Beers' joint Angolan venture with Endiama discovered a new kimberlite cluster in the country, its first such discovery in three decades, attesting to the geological promise of the vastly under-explored country. Kimberlite is a rare rock type where diamonds are commonly found. (Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo;Editing by Helen Popper)

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