Swiss luxury retailer and Cartier owner Richemont and US retailer Signet Jewellers are in advanced negotiations to join the consortium bidding to acquire diamond company De Beers from the UK’s Anglo American.
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reported that the two retail groups are discussing potential equity participation with the Global Diamond Consortium (GDC), an acquisition vehicle headed by former De Beers chief executive officer Gareth Penny.
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Although these talks have reached an advanced stage, no conclusive deal has been made.
GDC was named the preferred bidder for the purchase of De Beers from Anglo American in July.
The group is concurrently engaged in discussions with the government of Botswana aimed at raising its existing interest in the diamond producer to approximately 25%.
Angola and Namibia, along with several diamond manufacturers, are already consortium participants.
Due to the significant equity reserved for the three southern African countries and committed private investors, any eventual positions secured by Richemont and Signet are anticipated to be relatively minor.
The potential inclusion of Signet – which runs the Kay, Zales, and Jared retail banners – and Richemont occurs while the natural diamond sector attempts to stabilise following severe difficulties driven by declining Chinese consumer purchases, commercial frictions, and expanding market adoption of lab-grown substitutes.
Richemont, under the control of South African investor Johann Rupert, generates approximately three-quarters of its revenue from jewellery houses, including Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels alongside Cartier.
Anglo American launched the divestment of De Beers after rejecting an unsolicited takeover bid valued at nearly $50bn from Australia’s BHP Group in early 2024.
The sale has encountered pressure from persistent weakness across the global diamond pipeline, prompting Anglo American to record three separate impairments on De Beers over three years, which lowered the asset’s carrying value to $2.3bn in February 2026.
In the first quarter of FY27, to 30 June 2026, Richemont reported group sales of €6.32bn ($7.24bn), up 17% at actual exchange rates.
