FX firm Argentex rejects proposal from Dutch company Lavide

Argentex Group, the currency management firm caught in the financial crossfire of Donald Trump's tariffs crusade, has rejected an effort to gatecrash its emergency sale to rival IFX Payments.

The London-listed company issued a statement on Monday saying that it had received a proposal from Lavide Holding, a Euronext-listed financial holding company, to inject £2.5m in exchange for a 50% stake. Sky News earlier reported that interest had come from Haerlem Capital, another Dutch investor.

Money latest: Why you probably should not book a hotel on your laptop Argentex said it had "unanimously rejected the proposal on the basis that it does not constitute an offer for the entire issued share capital of the company, and that its proposed funding falls materially below that provided by IFX Payments and the level that Argentex requires to continue trading and fulfil its ongoing regulatory obligations". Shareholders in the London-listed group are scheduled to vote on the IFX deal on Wednesday.

In April, Argentex, whose clients include the FTSE 100 insurer Aviva, asset manager Barings, and Triumph Motorcycles, said it had been "exposed to significant volatility in foreign exchange rates, particularly in relation to the rapid devaluing of the US Dollar against other major benchmark currencies which has been precipitated by the various recent announcements from President Trump regarding tariff policies and US government spending cuts". The company was forced into emergency sale talks, with its board ultimately succeeding in securing a deal on a solvent basis - albeit at a steeply discounted price It announced late last month that it had drawn down £6.4m of a £20m revolving credit facility provided by IFX Payments.

"These drawn amounts are in addition to the £10.5m secured bridging loan provided by IFX Payments and have been applied to ensure that the Company remains within its liquid assets threshold requirement (LATR) and to satisfy certain margin calls from its liquidity providers," it said. Read more from Sky News:US-China hold trade war talks in LondonRiver Island owners draw up rescue plan Argentex floated on London's junior AIM market in 2019, and counts Lord Jones, the former CBI boss, among its board members.

Shares in the company, which recently resumed trading on the junior AIM stock market, were changing hands for about 2.5p on Monday, giving Argentex a market capitalisation of just under £3m..