Disposal, etc

DE LA RUE PLC
31 August 1999

                 De La Rue plc ('De La Rue')
         £200 million disposal of the Card Business
                             and
  proposed return of capital of not less than £100 million

Introduction

De  La  Rue has conditionally agreed to dispose of the  card
activities   of  its  Card  Systems  division   (the   'Card
Business')  for total proceeds of £200 million  (represented
by  cash  consideration of £170 million  and  the  purchaser
assuming  approximately £30 million of  debt)  to  Francois-
Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire of France.

Background to and reasons for the Disposal

Following the appointment of Ian Much as Chief Executive  in
September 1998, the Board of De La Rue conducted a strategic
review  of  the Group's activities and of the allocation  of
resources   needed   to   fund   the   Group's   development
opportunities.   The Board concluded that De La  Rue  should
concentrate on its two largest business areas, Cash  Systems
and   Security  Paper  and  Print,  where  it  enjoys  world
leadership positions and that it should seek offers for  the
Card  Business.   The Board believes that there  is  limited
strategic  and  technical overlap between the Card  Business
and  the  rest of De La Rue's businesses and that  the  Card
Business  would be better able to capitalise  on  the  rapid
growth in its markets under different ownership.

De La Rue is convinced that the transaction it has concluded
with  Francois-Charles  Oberthur  Fiduciaire  represents  an
excellent  outcome  for  De  La Rue  shareholders  and  will
further strengthen the Card Business so enabling it to serve
its customers better.

De  La  Rue  is  retaining  the IDS (Identity  Systems)  and
Transaction  Services businesses, which have  been  included
within the Card Systems division but which will now form  an
important part of the new Services division, the creation of
which  was announced in June.  IDS and Transaction  Services
had  combined sales in the year ended 31 March 1999  of  £21
million and operating profits of £1.6 million.

The sale of the Card Business will enable the Group to focus
its  management and financial resources more effectively  on
the  retained businesses and on developing its new  Services
division  which will provide services and customer solutions
using  the platforms of De La Rue's strong name and  leading
products.

Information on the Card Business

The  Card  Business  is  a  leader  in  the  production  and
personalisation of smart cards and magnetic stripe cards for
applications  requiring  authentication,  identification  or
security  of transactions.  The Card Business provides  card
based products and services to the banking, GSM, e-commerce,
PayTV,  retail,  transport,  loyalty,  health  and  identity
markets.

In  the year ended 31 March 1999 the Card Business had sales
of £140 million (of which £58.5 million was generated by the
smart  cards activities), profit before tax of £3.1  million
and net assets as at 31 March 1999 of £61 million.

Details of the Disposal

The  Disposal  is  conditional  upon  the  expiry  or  early
termination of all applicable waiting periods under relevant
US anti-trust legislation.

The estimated net cash proceeds (after tax and expenses)  of
the  Disposal  will  be £188 million.   The  profit  on  the
Disposal  is expected to be approximately £55 million  after
tax  and  expenses  and  net  of  goodwill  of  £72  million
previously written off.

Return of Capital

The  Board  has concluded that, following the Disposal,  the
Group  will have more capital than it requires to  fund  its
growth  and has therefore decided that this surplus  capital
should be returned to shareholders.  The exact amount, which
will be not less than £100 million (44 pence per share), and
the  method  of  payment will be announced  in  due  course.
Completion of the Disposal is expected in October  with  the
return  of capital around the end of the year.  Pending  the
capital  repayment,  the proceeds  will  be  used  to  repay
existing borrowings where appropriate or placed on deposit.

Based  upon  net  debt  at 31 March 1999  of  £126  million,
following  completion  and assuming a capital  repayment  of
£100 million, De La Rue would have had pro forma net debt of
£38 million as at that date.

Board changes

On  completion  of  the Disposal, Kevin  Loosemore,  who  is
Managing Director of the Card Systems division and  a  Board
director of De La Rue, will leave the Group.

Commenting, Ian Much, Chief Executive of De La Rue, said:

'The  sale  of  the Card Business will enable  us  to  focus
resources   on   strengthening  our  core   businesses   and
developing our new Services division, where we see scope for
considerable growth.  Combined with the intended  return  of
capital,  this  represents  an  excellent  outcome  for  our
shareholders.'

For further information please contact:

De La Rue plc
Ian Much, Chief Executive                 Tel:  [phone]
Paul Hollingworth, Finance Director             01256 605307
Stephen Hoffman Womersley,                      01256 605303
Head of Corporate Affairs

Rothschild
Crispin Wright                            Tel: [phone]

Brunswick
Susan Gilchrist                           Tel: [phone]