De Beers in talks to sell for $1b — a fraction of its former $18b value

De Beers, one of the world's largest diamond companies, has entered negotiations for a sale valued at $1 billion — a steep fall from the more than $18 billion valuation it once commanded.

Anglo American, the British mining company that owns De Beers, is in talks with the Global Diamond Consortium (GDC) over a deal to sell its subsidiary for $1 billion, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

Anglo American selected the GDC — led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny — as its preferred bidder earlier this month. Under the terms being discussed, the GDC would acquire Anglo American's 85 percent stake in De Beers for approximately $1 billion.

Of that amount, about $750 million would be paid upfront, with the remaining $250 million to follow at a later date.

The figure is a fraction of the $50 billion acquisition proposal that rival BHP Group put forward in early 2024. Anglo American rejected that offer and has since pursued a sale of De Beers, but a prolonged slump in the diamond market has complicated the process.

De Beers was valued at more than $18 billion in 2001, but that figure has collapsed as the market contracted. Anglo American wrote down the company's book value to $2.3 billion in February.

Founded in 1888, De Beers has long dominated the global diamond industry. Its "A Diamond Is Forever" campaign cemented diamonds as a symbol of engagement, marriage and love, helping the company grow into the world's top diamond producer.

The company now faces a deepening crisis driven by falling demand for natural diamonds and the rapid rise of lab-grown alternatives. Jewelry consumption has slowed in China, one of its biggest markets, while competitively priced lab-grown diamonds are quickly expanding their market share.

Industry data show that more than half of diamond rings sold in the United States in 2025 were lab-grown products. The Rapaport Group found that natural diamond prices fell 24.1 percent year-on-year in the same period.

Diamond analyst Paul Zimnisky said the industry has entered "a generational downturn," adding that the slump is "having a significant impact on the valuation of inventory and in-ground resources."