Takeover Panel tells Oberthur to make De La Rue bid or walk away

The Takeover Panel told France's Oberthur to put up or shut up in its pursuit of De La Rue, the Bank of England's banknote printer, giving it until 7 February to announce "a firm intention to make a bid" or walk away for at least six months. In November, De La Rue rejected Oberthur's indicative 905p-a-share, or £900m indicative offer, without entering into any discussions, arguing that it was too low. The French suitor has since waged a public campaign to try to force De La Rue to discuss a possible deal. It responded quickly to the Takeover Panel's ultimatum by urging De La Rue's shareholders to pressure the British company into giving "a complete picture of the company's position and prospects", especially regarding a key contract to supply banknote paper to the Reserve Bank of India which has been uncertain since banknote paper due to be shipped was found to be faulty. De La Rue declined to comment on the matter, saying the company was prevented from commenting on relationships with clients because of confidentiality agreements.