The French government is raising doubts about the purchase of half of US nuclear energy company Constellation by state-controlled French operator EDF, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
Citing government officials, the newspaper said that the government was keen for EDF to invest more in Europe as regulatory difficulties in the United States delay the 4.5-billion-dollar (3.0-billion-euro) deal there.
"There is a question over whether EDF should continue with Constellation," said one senior official quoted by the newspaper.
"It could still win contracts in the US and it is not a stupid idea to make EDF a European leader," the official added.
The report was denied by a French government official, who told AFP on condition of anonymity: "It's false … We have authorised this deal."
France, via EDF and its nuclear energy engineering giant Areva, is a leading force in the global nuclear market, which has gained new vitality in the last few years amid concerns about climate change and rising oil and gas prices.
EDF announced its bid for Constellation last December, shortly after buying British Energy for more than 15 billion euros in a move that gave the French giant a powerful position in the British nuclear energy sector.
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