EDF could nudge up British Energy bid

By John Bowker and Mathieu Robbins

LONDON (Reuters) - Electricite de France (EDF.PA) could raise slightly its bid for British Energy BGY.L above 700 pence a share in exchange for the nuclear power company's support for a deal, a source close to the matter said on Friday.

However, the source told Reuters that EDF was unwilling to bid above the 735 pence a share requested by British Energy this week, having already offered around 680 pence.

It tabled just over 680 pence a share last month, valuing British Energy (BE) at just under 11 billion pounds.

Shares in BE were off 0.7 percent at 731.5 pence by 11:41 a.m., valuing it at 11.7 billion pounds.

EDF and BE declined to comment. BE said on Monday it had received takeover proposals below last Friday's closing price of 735 pence, which did not offer value for shareholders.

"It's a close call," said one analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity. "EDF clearly wants it and if it wanted to it could overpay, but BE can't now take below 735 pence if its management are to remain credible," he added.

State-owned EDF is the only party to make a firm offer for British Energy, 35 percent owned by the government, following an auction of the group earlier this year.

BE, which owns eight nuclear power stations and one coal plant, had previously attracted interest from most of Europe's largest utilities keen to play a part in the government's decision to build new nuclear power stations.