De La Rue soars on Oberthur approach

Shares in De La Rue jumped 30 per cent yesterday after the privately owned French printing firm Oberthur admitted it had made a 905p a share approach for the troubled banknote maker last month.

The UK group last night said its board had been "unanimous" in rejecting the "opportunistic" approach. De La Rue has seen its shares dive by more than a third in recent months following production problems that caused its chief executive James Hussey to resign and cost the group £35m.

The French group, however, held out hopes of talks with De La Rue: "Oberthur very much hopes that the board of De La Rue will agree to enter into substantive discussions, possibly leading to an offer which ... could provide the catalyst for restoring the company's reputation."

But Oberthur added that it would deduct the 14.1p dividend announced in November from its offer. De La Rue shares yesterday rose 193.5p to 841p, as both companies said there was not certainty an actual offer will be forthcoming.

Nicholas Brookes, the UK's group chairman, said: "De La Rue is a unique company and has world leading positions in growth markets with high barriers to entry. We are addressing the current issues, which should not detract from the attractive medium and long-term prospects for the company. The Board had no hesitation in rejecting this highly opportunistic and preliminary proposal which does not begin to reflect De La Rue's fundamental value."