A Mauritius-based investment firm, Monarch Capital Limited, has bought a Sh400 million controlling stake in De La Rue Kenya EPZ, marking a major shift in ownership of the Ruaraka-based banknote printer.
The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) approved a transaction in which Thomas De La Rue AG, a wholly owned subsidiary of De La Rue plc, the London-listed security-printing group, transferred a 60 percent stake in the Kenyan business to Monarch Capital.
The acquisition leaves the Kenyan government with a 40 percent stake in De La Rue Kenya EPZ through the National Treasury.
The transaction comes just over two years after De La Rue suspended banknote production at its Ruaraka facility, ending a decades-long role in the printing of Kenyan currency.
De La Rue had dominated Kenya’s banknote-printing business for more than 30 years before losing the contract to German security-printing company Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technologies GmbH (G+D).
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) awarded G+D a Sh14.2 billion ($109,422,740) five-year contract in April 2024 to print Kenyan banknotes.
By the time of the G+D deal, De La Rue had already suspended its Kenyan banknote operations in January 2023 amid a dry-up of new orders after its contract with the CBK expired.
De La Rue’s suspension of Kenya operations was part of a wider business restructure to limit costs and asset impairments.
The company’s exit from banknote production marked a major shift for a business that had been closely associated with Kenya’s currency for decades.
De La Rue’s relationship with Kenya dates back to 1966 through its predecessor companies, Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited and Bradbury & Wilkinson, which was acquired by Thomas De La Rue in 1986. The group later established its banknote-printing facility in Ruaraka, Nairobi, which became a key centre for the production of Kenyan currency.
While Thomas De La Rue AG is based in Switzerland, it is part of the wider De La Rue group, whose roots are in Britain.
The group traces its origins to a printing business established by Thomas de la Rue in London and grew into a major international security-printing company. De La Rue plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The Kenyan government acquired a 40 percent stake in De La Rue Kenya in 2017, creating a joint venture with the British security-printing group. That shareholding remains intact under the new ownership, leaving the state as a minority partner in the business.
The ownership change comes alongside changes to the company’s board, including the appointment of former Safaricom chief executive Michael Joseph as a director, alongside two other new directors.
De La Rue has also been involved in the production of secure documents beyond banknotes, including passports in Kenya, while the group continues to provide technical support for passport production in Uganda.
For Monarch Capital, the acquisition provides control of a company with an established secure-printing facility, technical expertise and a long history of working with the Kenyan government.
It remains unclear whether the new owner intends to revive banknote production at the Ruaraka facility or shift the business towards other areas of security printing, including secure government documents and other specialised products.
