Anglo American has selected a consortium led by former De Beers CEO Gareth Penny as the preferred bidder for the sale of the world's largest diamond mining company, people familiar with the matter said.

Anglo chose a group known as Global Diamond Consortium (GDC) from three bidders, Botswana's minister for state president and defence, Moeti Mohwasa, told lawmakers on Friday.

The group is led by Penny, two of the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. A spokesperson for Penny declined to comment. Botswana owns a 15% stake in De Beers and a 50% interest in Debswana, its diamond-mining joint venture with the company. GDC's proposal "envisages participation" by fellow diamond-producing nations Angola and Namibia, according to Mohwasa.

"As it is entitled to do, the government has been engaging with Anglo American to evaluate all bids received, including that of the preferred bidder," Mohwasa said. "Government retains complete freedom to proceed either alongside the preferred bidder as a partner or to exercise its preemption rights alone or with a third party."