A sale of De Beers, the diamond mining unit being divested by Anglo American, could be completed within weeks as negotiations with potential buyers enter their final stages, according to De Beers chief executive officer Al Cook.

Speaking at the Reuters NEXT Europe conference in London, Cook said the company is closer than ever to securing a deal after nearly two years of discussions.

“I’m hopeful that it’ll happen in weeks rather than months going forward,” Cook said. “It’s been a two-year period. There’s been a lot of negotiations. They’re now maturing. We’ve never been closer than we are to a sale.”

Anglo American put De Beers up for sale in May 2024 as part of a broader restructuring program amid a prolonged downturn in diamond prices and growing competition from synthetic diamonds.

De Beers is one of the world’s largest diamond producers, with mining and exploration operations spanning Botswana, Namibia, Angola, South Africa and Canada.

The sale process has attracted interest from several diamond-producing nations. Botswana, which already owns a 15 percent stake in De Beers, as well as Namibia and Angola, are reportedly participating in investor groups seeking to acquire Anglo American’s 85 percent stake.

“I think what’s good for us is we’ve had countries that really understand diamonds,” Cook said. “We’ve had consortia and companies that know a lot about diamonds wanting to take stakes. So we’ve got all the ingredients for a really powerful public-private partnership.”

According to earlier reports, the field of bidders has narrowed from six groups last year to two remaining consortia. Those groups reportedly include governments of diamond-producing countries, former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny, Qatari investors and Israeli businessman Nir Livnat.

Cook said the global diamond market has faced three consecutive years of declining demand, partly due to falling marriage rates in China, a key market for engagement rings. However, he noted that demand has recently begun to recover.

He also expects global diamond supply to tighten as mines in South Africa, Lesotho and Canada are scheduled to close by the end of 2027.

“The whole industry has only made one commercial diamond discovery in the 21st century,” Cook said. “Overall, we expect to see demand contract over time and diamonds will become rarer.”

Cook added that De Beers has been deliberately reducing the volume of diamonds released into the market and is seeing stronger demand for higher-quality stones, while lower-grade diamonds continue to face pricing pressure.