Embattled British banknote printer De La Rue could fall into foreign hands after a rival firm from France revealed it wants to buy the company.
Paris-based Oberthur said it made an offer of 905p per share on November 10 but De La Rue’s management refused to enter into negotiations as they did not believe the offer recognised the true value of the company.
De La Rue’s share price has plummeted by more than a third in recent months following production problems that caused its chief executive James Hussey to resign and cost the group £35 million.
Oberthur brought its offer out in the open with a statement which is likely to put pressure on De La Rue to engage in talks.
It said: “Oberthur very much hopes that the board of De La Rue will agree to enter into substantive discussions, possibly leading to an offer which would benefit the company’s customers, its staff and its shareholders and could provide the catalyst for restoring the company’s reputation.”
Its offer was a 64% increase on De La Rue’s share price when it slumped to 550p following a trading update on November 23 in which the company revealed the cost of the blunder.
Oberthur would deduct the 14.1p dividend announced in November and any future dividend payments from its offer, it added.
Shares in De La Rue soared by 32% following the announcements.
In a statement released earlier De La Rue said the potential offer was “highly preliminary and opportunistic” and did not reveal the identity of the bidder.
The world’s biggest banknote printer said in its half-year results in November that volumes are set to drop 20% this year following the crisis, which suspended production and a shipment of the affected banknote for two months.
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
