Top News

Anil Agarwal, the chairman of Vedanta Resources, which owns mining operations in Zambia and South Africa, has expressed interest in buying diamond giant De Beers from Anglo American, its parent company.

Billionaire Anil Agarwal is reportedly eyeing to venture into the diamond business, and has expressed interest in acquiring diamond giant De Beers. As per a Reuters report, De Beers has drawn interest from at least six consortia, including Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal, Indian diamond firms and Qatari investment funds.

Anglo American, which owns De Beers, is divesting the diamond firm, as it makes a push to focus on its core assets in copper and iron ore. The development comes amid a global decline in diamond prices.

Indian diamond companies including KGK Group and Kapu Gems, which dominate the domestic cutting and polishing trade and are De Beers’ biggest customers, have also expressed interest separately, as part of bigger groups, according to Reuters.

Anil Agarwal to buy De Beers?

Citing sources, the report said that Anil Agarwal, the chairman of Vedanta Resources, which owns mining operations in Zambia and South Africa, is among the interested parties as part of a bigger group. However, Anglo American and Anil Agarwal have declined to comment on the matter.

Notably, Anil Agarwal became the largest shareholder in Anglo American in 2017 with 20% stake. But he exited the same two years later, citing his investment goals had been meet after the stock price doubled.

Anglo American has valued De Beers at $4.9 billion after recording $3.5 billion in losses over the last two years. The company has retained its brokers Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Centerview as financial advisers to explore a potential sale, demerger, or public listing, according to the report.

Who is Anil Agarwal?

Known by his famous moniker the “metal king”, Anil Agarwal is the founder and chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited, and controls Vedanta Resources through Volcan Investments, a holding vehicle with a 100% stake in the business.

Born and raised in a Marwadi family in Patna, Bihar, Anil’s father, Dwarka Prasad Agarwal owned a small aluminum conductor business, which young Anil joined after completing his schooling at Patna’s Miller High School. At 19, Anil Agarwal arrived in Mumbai (then Bombay), and began trading in scrap metal in the mid 1970s, collecting scrap metal from cable companies in other states and selling it in Mumbai.

In April 2003, Anil Agarwal established the Vedanta Resources Limited, which is today the largest mining and non-ferrous metals company in India, with mining operations in Australia and Zambia and oil and gas operations in three countries. The firm is headquartered in London, UK.