BANK of England banknote printer De La Rue has rejected its French rival’s increased takeover bid. The 200-year-old company, headquartered in Jays Close, Viables, Basingstoke, dismissed a 935p a share offer from Oberthur Technologies on Monday. De La Rue said the offer – valuing the FTSE250 company at £926million – undervalued the firm. Shares in De La Rue – which fell heavily last year – plunged 15 per cent after news of Oberthur's withdrawal. The Paris-based company first approached the troubled company back in October last year. Shares had fallen by a third in July after De La Rue admitted production irregularities at its Overton plant, and the potential loss of the Reserve Bank of India as a customer, leading to the resignation of the then chief executive James Hussey. Shares had hit a low of 549.5p in November before news of the French takeover bid hit the headlines. Despite teaming up with US private equity group Bain Capital to finance an improved share offer, on Monday Oberthur walked away citing the “continued refusal of the board of De La Rue to engage in meaningful discussions.” Shares on Monday ended down 125.5p at 694p – 26 per cent below Oberthur's offer price. City analysts had thought De La Rue were unlikely to accept Obert-hur’s bid without the would-be suitor tabling an offer of at least £10 a share. De La Rue chairman Nicholas Brookes, said that despite raising its previous 905p offer, the French group “continues to significantly undervalue the company and its prospects. He added: “The board therefore unanimously rejected this latest approach.” Mr Brookes said he remained confident that De La Rue “has a promising future as an independent company.” Tim Cobbold, who took up his role as chief executive earlier this month, said: “My first few weeks at De La Rue have confirmed my view that De La Rue is a high-quality business with substantial potential in growing markets. “There are, of course, opportunities for improvement, building on changes already made, but shareholders should be in no doubt of my absolute commitment to realise De La Rue’s full potential and deliver significant value.” Takeover Panel rules mean that Oberthur cannot return to make a new offer for De la Rue for six months unless a rival bidder makes an approach or the UK company board’s recommends a deal. De La Rue, founded in Guernsey in 1813 by Thomas de la Rue, is the world’s largest commercial security and papermaker, and prints banknotes for 150 countries. In November, it reported that pre-tax profits before exceptional items had more than halved to £23.8m, while sales fell 17 per cent to £209.2m in the previous six months.