Shares in De La Rue were down on the FTSE 250 in afternoon trading, despite reports that French firm Oberthur is considering enhancing its takeover offer for the banknote printer.

Today De La Rue said it was rejecting a 935 pence per share offer by Oberthur, following a similar rejection of a 905 pence per share offer last year.

De La Rue said that the offer "significantly undervalued" the company and that after "careful consideration" the board had unanimously decided to reject the proposal.

It is now being reported that Oberthur is considering raising its bid yet again, this time to 950 pence per share.

De La Rue has become something of a takeover target in recent months because of the fall in its share price resulting from the resignation of CEO, James Hussey, over unspecified production problems that are set to reduce its volumes by 20 per cent this year.

By 09:40 shares in De La Rue were down 1.40 per cent on the FTSE 250 to 808.00 pence per share.

FTSE