London: Anglo American has already been talking to potential buyers for De Beers, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

It says the UK-based mining conglomerate has spoken in recent weeks to luxury houses and Gulf sovereign-wealth funds. A partnership between could emerge as the final buyer for its diamond business, according to unnamed sources.

The news comes as BHP, the world’s largest miner, launches a takeover bid for Anglo, its smaller rival.

BHP ditched its diamond business in 2013 and would almost certainly sell off De Beers if its £39bn bid succeeds.

Anglo said in February that it was “currently assessing its carrying value of De Beers” – meaning the value of its assets.

In an interview with the Financial Times, its CEO Duncan Wanblad said a sale of De Beers was “not specifically” something it was considering.

It acknowledged that De Beers was loss-making in the second half of 2023 (rough sales FY2023 were down 36 per cent to $3.63bn) and said that despite recent improvements, the prospects for economic growth remained uncertain and it may take some time for rough diamond demand to fully recover.

Anglo’s own valuation of De Beers is currently $7.6bn, although analysts put it at no more than $4bn and possibly as low as $600m.