Bank note printer raises £360m

Bank note printer De La Rue today raised £360m after agreeing to sell its cash counting division to private equity firm Carlyle.

Bank note printer De La Rue today raised £360m (€456.88m) after agreeing to sell its cash counting division to private equity firm Carlyle.

The Basingstoke-based company said the cash systems arm, which provides mechanisms for bank ATMs, had grown significantly in the last four years and was now a strong business in its own right.

The disposal will allow De La Rue to focus on its security paper and printing arm, which produces more than 150 national currencies and a wide range of security documents such as passports and travellers cheques.

The sale, which is subject to shareholder approval, will lead to the return of £460m of capital to De La Rue shareholders, including £160m (€203m) revealed at the time of the company's annual results in May.

The proposed sale comes after a strategic review announced in November.

Chairman Nicholas Brookes said: "The disposal of cash systems, in the more uncertain economic environment, reflects the quality of the business that we have built since 2004."

He said the company's two divisions were distinct entities operationally and provided little opportunity for synergies.

The cash systems arm generated revenues of £286.6m (€363.7m) and operating profits of £35.5m (€45m) in the year to March 29.