Currency printer De La Rue will sell its authentication business for €358 million (£300 million), including debt, to its U.S. rival Crane NXT.
Since its announcement, its share price soared 15% on Tuesday. The British banknote printer, whose factory is in Malta, is also talks with parties over the sale of its banknote design and printing arm, CEO Clive Vacher told Reuters.
The authentication arm designs and makes secure documents, tax stamps and other security features to authenticate goods. It counts government and tax authorities as major customers. De La Rue designs around a third of the world’s banknotes.
Crane Currency also has a plant in Malta.
De La Rue said the sale of the authentication business would help the London-listed firm fix its balance sheet by cutting debt and reducing its pension deficit, a legacy issue that has been detrimental to its performance.
De La Rue said it has agreed with its pension trustee to pay £30 million into the scheme on completion of the sale and an additional £12.5 million in deficit repair contributions over the period to April 2027.
De La Rue’s remaining currency business, which is recovering from a downturn in cash demand post-pandemic, will use the money to restore cash flow.
