Slaughter and May advised De La Rue plc on its entry into a strategic agreement with Epiris Fund II

Slaughter and May has advised De La Rue plc (De La Rue or the Group) on its entry into a strategic agreement with Epiris Fund II (Epiris) in relation to the Group’s paper business (to be named Portals De La Rue Limited (Portals De La Rue)).  Under the terms of the agreement, Epiris, together with the existing management of the paper business, will acquire a 90% shareholding in Portals De La Rue for cash consideration of c. £61m payable upon completion of the transaction.  De La Rue will retain the remaining 10% interest.  As part of the transaction, Portals De La Rue will commit to supply a pre-agreed volume of paper to the Group, at pre-agreed prices, for the next ten years. In addition, the Group will be Portals De La Rue’s preferred supplier for security features.

The transaction will limit De La Rue’s exposure to the external paper market, while securing long-term paper supplies and maintaining De La Rue’s position as the world’s largest commercial banknote supplier.

Slaughter and May supported the De La Rue legal team, which was led by Ed Peppiatt (General Counsel) and Dominic Hickman.