- Currency printer "unanimously disagrees" with claim
- Shareholder vote to take place on 2 December
Banknote maker De La Rue (DLAR) is embroiled in a public scrap with its second largest shareholder, which called upon chair Kevin Loosemore to resign last month.
Crystal Amber, which has a 10 per cent stake in De La Rue, claimed that the group’s chair published a “clearly defamatory” statement in an October email. The message - which was sent to Crystal Amber manager Richard Bernstein - appears to accuse the fund of attempted market manipulation.
In an open letter, Crystal Amber said the email was “illustrative of poor judgment. The same poor judgment manifests itself by De La Rue having failed to deliver on its turnaround plan, having produced two profit warnings in 2022 and a share price that languishes on eight times earnings”.
The activist investor added that the email was “the real proximate cause” for its attempt to oust Loosemore from his position. A general meeting will be held on 2 December, where shareholders will vote on whether he should continue as chair. Crystal Amber also argued the De La Rue turnaround plan had failed and the company should form a plan to "release shareholder value".
Responding to the letter, De La Rue said its board "unanimously disagrees with the analysis portrayed by the incomplete correspondence contained in the letter and will make no further comment.”
The group’s interim results are due to be published on 23 November.
