博茨瓦纳和领导收购戴比尔斯竞标的团体正接近就他们在该钻石矿业公司未来的所有权比例达成协议，这可能为英美资源集团最终退出该业务铺平道路。
Botswana and a group leading the race to buy De Beers are near an agreement on their future ownership stakes in the diamond miner, potentially paving the way for Anglo American Plc to finally exit the business.
全球钻石联盟 — — 由前戴比尔斯首席执行官加雷斯·佩尼领导的一个平台 — — 在7月成为该矿业公司的首选竞标者。然而，与博茨瓦纳达成协议一直是任何交易的障碍，因为戴比尔斯最重要的矿山位于博茨瓦纳，且该国政府持有该公司15%的股份。
Global Diamond Consortium — a vehicle headed by former De Beers Chief Executive Officer Gareth Penny — emerged in July as the preferred bidder for the miner. Yet coming to an agreement with Botswana, where De Beers’ most important mines are based and whose government holds a 15% stake in the company, had remained a hurdle to any deal.
知情人士透露，该联盟和博茨瓦纳目前正就他们持股比例的大小接近达成协议，这些人士要求不具名，因为谈判是私下进行的。虽然具体细节尚不明确，但协议可能会使博茨瓦纳的持股比例提升至约25%，一些知情人士如是说。不过，谈判仍在进行中，协议尚未最终确定。
The consortium and Botswana are now nearing an agreement on the size of what their stakes will be, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private. While the precise details aren’t clear, the agreement is likely to see Botswana increase its stake to around 25%, some of the people said. Still, talks are ongoing and an agreement has not been finalized.
全球钻石联盟还包括纳米比亚和安哥拉 — — 两个最大的钻石生产国 — — 而英美资源集团曾在7月讨论以约10亿美元出售戴比尔斯，彭博社当时如此报道。这仅仅是戴比尔斯曾经价值的一小部分。英美资源集团、全球钻石联盟和博茨瓦纳总统办公室均拒绝置评。
GDC also includes Namibia and Angola — two of the largest diamond producing nations — and Anglo has discussed selling De Beers for about $1 billion, Bloomberg reported in July. That’s just a fraction of what De Beers was once worth. Anglo, GDC and Botswana’s presidential office declined to comment.
自2024年初英美资源集团成功抵御必和必拓集团近500亿美元的收购要约以来，它一直在寻求出售曾经的钻石垄断企业，但这一进程一直受到钻石市场危机的阻碍。英美资源集团在短短三年内对该业务进行了三次减值，使其在2月份的账面价值降至23亿美元。
Anglo has been looking to sell the one-time diamond monopoly since it fended off an almost $50 billion approach from BHP Group in early 2024, but the process has been stymied by a crisis in the diamond market. Anglo has taken three impairments on the business in just three years, lowering its carrying value for the unit to $2.3 billion in February.
博茨瓦纳政府在7月表示，英美资源集团已从感兴趣的各方中选择全球钻石联盟为首选竞标者。彭博社当时报道称，全球钻石联盟由佩尼领导。
Botswana’s government in July said that Anglo had selected GDC as the preferred bidder from the interested parties. GDC is led by Penny, Bloomberg reported at the time.
据知情人士透露，如果博茨瓦纳与GDC之间的协议能够顺利达成，那么安哥拉和纳米比亚两国共同持有的德比尔斯（De Beers）股份将合计不到50%。这意味着德比尔斯仍将由私人投资者控制，而这正是某些财团支持者的关键要求。
Should an agreement between Botswana and GDC progress, the country, Angola and Namibia will together hold less than 50% of De Beers, the people familiar with the matter said. That would see De Beers remain under the control of private investors, a key condition for some of the consortium backers.
博茨瓦纳总统杜马·博科（Duma Boko）此前曾表示该国希望拥有德比尔斯的控股权；此次接受虽然比例较大的但仍是少数股权的安排，显然与他的立场相悖。上个月，副总统恩达巴·高拉塞（Ndaba Gaolathe）在接受彭博电视（Bloomberg TV）采访时称：“无论持股比例是多少，肯定都超过了15%。”
Accepting a larger yet still minority stake would mark a departure from previous remarks by Botswana President Duma Boko, who had said the country wanted majority control of De Beers. Last month, Vice President Ndaba Gaolathe told Bloomberg TV that “whatever the number is, it is more than 15%,” when asked about what size shareholding the state is seeking.
对于英美资源集团（Anglo American）来说，如果协议能够达成，其出售德比尔斯的计划将进入最后阶段，从而扫清这一拖延已逾两年的进程中的最后一个障碍。
For Anglo, an agreement would allow the potential sale to progress to the final stages, clearing one of the final obstacles for a process that has dragged on for more than two years.
此次出售德比尔斯的行动发生在钻石行业面临最严重、持续时间最长的危机期间——钻石价格持续暴跌。尽管疫情期间钻石销量激增，但该行业在中国奢侈品消费下滑的冲击下已开始衰退；合成钻石的兴起、贸易紧张局势以及地缘政治的突然变化进一步加剧了行业的困境。
The move to sell De Beers came in the midst of one of the diamond industry’s deepest and most prolonged crises that has seen prices plunge. After bumper sales during the pandemic, the sector was already weakening when it was hit by a collapse in Chinese luxury spending. The rising popularity of synthetic stones, trade tensions and sudden geopolitical shifts have added more pain.
不过，近几个月来钻石市场已出现复苏迹象，因此任何交易时机都可能对竞购方有利。据彭博社报道，交易完成后，博茨瓦纳还将根据德比尔斯的经营状况获得额外的收益。
Still, the market has shown some signs of recovery in recent months, making the timing of any deal potentially beneficial for the bidders. There will also be additional payments based on the performance of the business after the sale completes, Bloomberg has reported.
博茨瓦纳还持有德布斯瓦纳（Debswana）50%的股份——这是其与德比尔斯共同成立的矿业合资企业，该公司生产了该国大部分钻石产品。
Botswana also holds a 50% interest in Debswana, its mining joint venture with De Beers that produces most of the country’s diamonds.