Advertisement
Advertisement

De La Rue activist investor calls for sale or break-up of banknote printer – FT

By:
Reuters
Published: Jan 28, 2022, 16:08 UTC

(Reuters) - Crystal Amber Fund, one of De La Rue's largest investors, has called on the British banknote printer to consider a sale or break-up after its profit warning, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

De La Rue activist investor calls for sale or break-up of banknote printer – FT

(Reuters) – Crystal Amber Fund, one of De La Rue’s largest investors, has called on the British banknote printer to consider a sale or break-up after its profit warning, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

Richard Bernstein, who heads Crystal Amber, predicted that a sale of De La Rue’s authentication division alone would generate more than the company was worth following the stock’s 25% slump on Monday, according to the report.

De La Rue’s shares slumped 25% on Monday after the company delayed the delivery of its turnaround plan by a year and warned annual profit would miss market expectations, as it struggles with coronavirus-related staff absences and supply chain issues.

The activist investor, the third-largest shareholder in the company with about a 10% stake, said in a monthly report on Friday that the currency printing industry needed consolidation.

It added that De La Rue would be the subject of a takeover bid from one or more competitors in the coming months.

FT quoted De La Rue Chief Executive Officer Clive Vacher as saying the board had confidence in the group’s strategy. He did not comment on the takeover speculation.

Crystal Amber did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Ramakrishnan M.)

About the Author

Reuterscontributor

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:

Did you find this article useful?

Advertisement