De La Rue starts formal sale process after new bid

De La Rue has kicked off a formal sale process for its currency division, after receiving at other takeover approaches in addition to the previously announced bid by a consortium linked to financier Edi Truell.

Truell's Disruptive Capital GP and Pension SuperFund Capital groups – collectively known as the 'PSFC entities' – made an offer for De La Rue's currency unit in January that valued it at around $300m, a few months after the company agreed to sell its authentication business to Crane NXT for approximately $391m.

PSFC has offered to buy the company through the issuance of debt and a 125 pence share buyback, and at the time of writing the stock was trading at 116.5 pence, around a third higher than its level 12 months ago.

The offer was subject to certain conditions, including the derisking De La Rue's pension scheme – which developed a black hole that was plugged in part by debt – and the completion of the sale of the authentication unit, which provides tax stamps, security labels and other technologies. De La Rue is facing the deadline to repay a £235m revolving credit facility before the end of June.

The company also said it is making "significant steps towards concluding the sale of the authentication division to Crane NXT" and expects companies interested in the remainder of the company to be received by March 31.