De La Rue on March 2005 Sequoia was sold to Smartmatic, a multi-national technology company which had developed advanced election systems, voting machines included. In 2003, the company acquired the Debden-based banknote printing operations of the Bank of England. In 2003 and 2004 the company supplied banknotes to Iraq. The company was recognised by Hermann Simon as a role model for other small- to medium-sized businesses in his book "Hidden Champions". The Highest Perfection, a history of De La Rue was published in 2011. Written by Peter Pugh for De La Rue, it covered the years 1712–2003. In August 2014, the company announced
Hippolyte De La Rue 1941, with Air Marshal Williams appointed Air Officer Commanding (AOC). Meanwhile, De La Rue also missed out on a potential posting to the Middle East that was suggested by the British but turned down by the Australian government. Promoted acting air commodore, he became the inaugural AOC Western Area, headquartered in Perth, on 9 January 1941. Among the units he controlled in this position were No. 14 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron, No. 25 (General Purpose) Squadron, No. 35 (Transport) Squadron, and No. 77 (Fighter) Squadron. De La Rue worked assiduously to prepare the latter for operations, as it was the only