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British banknut Printer De la Rue agreed to be bought by an American buyout firm in an £ 263m value agreement.
The more than 200-year-old company, based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, will be removed from the London Stock Exchange and obtained by Atlas.
The decision comes because it received a competitive bid from British financier Edi Truell, which offered 132.17p per De la Rue share – more than the 130p per share presented by Atlas.
De la Rue’s boss said the company put “our weight” behind the Atlas bid, although it provides slightly less for the sale.
Connecticut-based Atlas specializes in buying and investing in struggling businesses in industrial sectors such as construction, paper and printing, auto parts and food production.
It currently has controlling interests in a group of 27 firms that employ more than 57,000 people together.
De la Rue launched a formal process earlier this year to get himself to buy.
In January, it was approached on a possible takeover agreement worth £ 245m by a consortium of two of Mr. Truell’s companies, disruptive capital -general practitioner and pension -superfund Capital.
On Tuesday, De la Rue said the board met on Monday to consider the latest proposal.
CEO Clive Vacher said that although the value of the competitive offer was’ slightly higher ‘, the board of directors had to consider’ execution risk and timeframes’ that made Atlas’ bid more viable.
“We put our weight behind the Atlas bid,” Mr. Vacher told the father news agency, adding that the buyer “has strong finances to support growth”.
“Most importantly, we can ensure long -term stability for our clients and our people under Atlas’s ownership, and the business can best position for the next chapter,” he said.
The acquisition must be approved by the company’s shareholders.
De la Rue has been struggling since the pandemic with a downturn in the demand for cash, and in July last year he warned about the risks to keep working due to paying a loan owed in July 2025.
He agreed to sell his verification-poor-arm-poor governments for governments and businesses to sell-to the US listed group of Crane NXT for £ 300m, which means he could fully repay the loan.
Mr. Vacher said it means it transitions to private ownership as a “cash-positive and debt-free” business.
The CEO said the company has undergone a fundamental transformation since 2020, including improving profitability in its currency.
The company currently has a ‘record book’ that navigates through a ‘deep downturn’ during the Covid-19 pandemic when demand from central banks has dropped to new banknotes.
“As the question came back, we captured a lot of it,” he told Dad.
Peter Bacon, a partner at Atlas, said: “In De la Rue we see a company that is an industry leader, but one that has faced several challenges over the past year.”
Atlas said it believes the company under private ownership will put it in a better position to obtain further investment.
Shares in De la Rue rose by more than 15% on Tuesday morning.
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