Speculation broke this morning regarding a potential takeover bid, forcing De La Rue to issue a media statement.

The bidder was not officially named in the statement, although it had already been speculated as Oberthur, which has now issued a statement of its own confirming the offer.

It put forward an all cash proposal for all the outstanding share capital on 10 November 2010 at £9.05 per share.

Oberthur's statement said: "The board of De La Rue has thus far refused to enter into discussions and rejected Oberthur's approaches. The board said it was unwilling to enter into substantive discussions on the basis that, in its opinion, the Oberthur proposal fails to recognise the fundamental value and future prospects of De La Rue's business.

"Oberthur wishes to make it clear that it hopes it can agree a basis for the board of De La Rue to recommend an offer from Oberthur. Oberthur very much hopes the board of De La Rue will agree to enter into substantive discussions, possibly leading to an offer which would benefit the company's customers, its staff and its shareholders and could provide the catalyst for restoring the company's reputation."

The statement did add that the bid was made prior to De La Rue's interim announcement of 23 November 2010, which did not make for positive reading, and any future bids would have to take that into account.

It added: "Oberthur does not believe that this announcement supports De La Rue's assertion that Oberthur's indicative proposal fails to recognise the fundamental value and future prospects of De La Rue's business."