Orbis Fund Management, which owns around 10% of the business, has said that it will not sell its equity at the current price offered by Canon.

The move comes as a surprise considering the 70% premium on the share price offered by Canon, widely seen as a high offer made in order to deter a counter bid from rival Konica Minolta.

Under Dutch law, 85% of the shareholding must accept the deal, although Orbis's hopes of encouraging more shareholders to demand a higher offer have been dashed by a statement from Konica Minolta, which yesterday said that the company has "no intention" of launching a counter bid.

In a statement released today, Orbis said that the decision to recommend the deal to shareholders came "as a result of a flawed negotiation process", adding that the offer "significantly undervalued Océ's assets at the proposed buyout price".

However, Océ countered the statement and said that the envisaged transaction is the result of an "extensive process", adding that it had been "in frequent contact with all relevant industry players, and has considered and discussed various transaction forms, all in the best interest of its shareholders and other stakeholders".

Orbis has a history of opposing deals for companies in which it has a shareholding, famously forcing Citigroup to increase its offer for Japanese broker Nikko Cordial.

However, the current challenge is unlikely to open the door to a counter bid by another manufacturer and as such is unlikely to persuade Canon to raise its offer.

Canon is yet to make a further statement on the challenge.