LONDON - A sale of De Beers, Anglo American's diamond unit, has never been closer, its CEO said on Tuesday, adding that a deal could come within weeks.

Anglo put De Beers - one of the world's leading diamond companies with operations and exploration spanning Botswana, Namibia, Angola, South Africa and Canada - up for sale in May 2024 as part of a broader restructuring amid falling diamond prices and the global rise of synthetic diamonds.

"I'm hopeful that it'll happen in weeks rather than months going forward," De Beers CEO Al Cook said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT Europe conference in London. "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."

The unit has attracted interest from the governments of Botswana, which already holds a 15% stake, Namibia and Angola. They are members of consortia with companies interested in buying Anglo's 85% stake, according to sources.

"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. But as with all deals, we need to get it over the line."

Sources previously told Reuters there are two consortia still vying to take stakes in De Beers, down from six in 2025. The two remaining consortia include governments of diamond-producing countries, former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny, now chairperson of asset manager Ninety One, a Qatari investment fund and Israeli businessman Nir Livnat.

'DIAMONDS BECOMING RARER'

Demand for diamonds globally had fallen for three years in a row before a recent pick-up, Cook said, pointing to the plunging marriage rate in China and its knock-on effect on purchases of engagement rings.

Nonetheless, Cook said wider mine closures in South Africa, Lesotho and Canada by the end of 2027 will lead to a contraction of global supply.

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

Cook added that De Beers has been steadily cutting its own supply of stones to the market, adding that he saw a "K-shaped" economic recovery, where higher-quality diamonds are increasingly sought after, with lower quality stones remaining at depressed prices.