Bank of England printer De La Rue agrees to £300m breakup

De La Rue, the Bank of England's banknote printer, has agreed to a £300m sale of a division of its business to an American firm. The London-based company announced this morning that it had entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of its authentication arm to Crane NXT, a New York-listed industrial technology company.

Upon completion of the sale, De La Rue will solely be a currency printer, abandoning its authentication business that assists government clients in detecting fraud. This sale follows a series of issues for the company, including most recently being compelled to postpone significant pension payments into its retirement fund, as reported by City AM.

"Completion of the sale will allow us to repay our existing revolving credit facility in full ahead of its maturity on 1 July 2025 and will provide a springboard to unlock further intrinsic value as we move to find a long-term funding solution for the group's legacy defined benefit pension scheme," stated De La Rue chair Clive Whiley. The company also added that an additional £12.5m in deficit repair contributions will be paid into the pension scheme over the next three years.

In July, De La Rue confirmed it was in discussions to sell off a portion of the company, which was announced alongside the printer's full year results that had already been delayed in order for the firm to find a potential suitor.

De La Rue reported a decline in earnings in line with forecasts, attributing it to "substantial trading difficulties", as its revenue fell 11.3% from £350m to £310m.

Nonetheless, the entity's authentication division enjoyed a 12.5% increase in revenue, exceeding the company's set goal of £100m.

"The sale of our authentication division to Crane NXT represents a substantial step forward on our route to realise the underlying intrinsic value of the De La Rue business for the benefit of all stakeholders," remarked Whiley.

"We are delighted to reach agreement with a company with the stature of Crane NXT, with its complementary strengths and are confident that the authentication division will continue to build on its considerable successes over the past few years."

Furthermore, the statement continued, "In addition, we will be able to focus fully on building and growing our world-leading currency business."