Anglo American mulls buying Oppenheimer family's stake in De Beers

Anglo American, the diversified mining company, is mulling purchase of the Oppenheimer family's stake in De Beers, in a bid to gain full control of the world's largest diamond company, the Sunday Times reported yesterday citing sources familiar with the matter.

London-listed Anglo American holds 45 per cent stake in De Beers, while the Oppenheimer family holds 40 per cent and the remaining 15 per cent is held by the government of Botswana.

The Oppenheimer family stake, which is held through Luxembourg-based Central Holdings, is worth around £2 billion ($3.12 billion), the report said.

"Shareholders aren't happy with the minority investment. They want clarity either way, and the view of the directors is a positive one: that they would be interested in taking control," the paper cited a banking source as saying.

The paper said that while a spin-off of De Beers had been considered, the miner is more likely to buy Oppenheimers stake and make De Beers part of its core operations.

Johannesburg, South Africa-based De Beers, founded in 1888 by UK born Cecil Rhodes, is the world's largest producer and distributor of diamonds. The company is involved in most facets of the diamond industry, including mining, trading, and retail.