De La Rue Currency or Authentication – or Both – for Sale?

De La Rue, the banknote printer and substrate manufacturer, authentication solutions provider and producer of security holograms, has announced it is in discussions with several parties interested in acquiring one or both of its divisions: Authentication and Currency.

De La Rue expects to provide a further update when its full year results are released, which has been delayed from June to July.

The strategy reshaping De La Rue

The update comes after several years of effort to restore De La Rue’s fortunes under Clive Vacher, who joined the company in 2019 with an experienced track record of turnarounds, international business transformation, and strategic development. Clive came to De La Rue following the loss of its UK passport business, worth £490 million, to rival Gemalto.

The company went on to sell its ID Solutions business in 2019 to HID Global, although it retained its polycarbonate manufacturing business, as well as some ID security features, which it sells as components to HID and other ID solution providers.