DE LA RUE: Will still print the UK’s banknotes
Photo credit: Flickr/Bank of England
Crane NXT confirmed on October 15 that it had brought De La Rue, the company that prints the Bank of England’s banknotes.
The American industrial technology company paid £300 million (€358.9 million) for De La Rue’s authentication division, which produces secure documents, tax stamps and other security features used for validation purposes.
Prior to the deal, insiders predicted that this would result in a breakup of the London-listed company that was founded in 1821, although Crane specified that the agreement did not include De La Rue’s currency business.
“The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions,” a statement continued.
The same insiders added that the deal would be regarded as a positive outcome for De La Rue, whose finances have been strained for some time, as the Crane deal would eliminate De La Rue’s debt.
De La Rue can now inject £30 million (€35.9 million) into its pension scheme, plus an additional £12.5 million (€14.9 million) in deficit repair contributions up to April 2027.
According to Reuters, De La Rue has also agreed with the pension trustee not to return capital to shareholders until the pension scheme is entirely de-risked.
