Firms bid for France's motorways

The government will name the bid winners in early December

France has had 'several' offers from firms hoping to win control of three top motorway operators, officials say.

But Paris has not put a precise figure on how many companies - from an initial 18 - had made firm bids.

Over the next three weeks the finance ministry will decide which bidders will win the auction.

The government aims to raise 11bn-13bn euros ($13.5bn-$15.9bn; £7.5bn-£8.8bn) from the controversial sale and use the proceeds to cut its national debt.

"Aside from the proposed price, the government will pay particular attention to the social and industrial projects bidders envisage," the ministry said in a statement.

Officials had previously said the government would outline which companies had tabled firm offers for the three motorway operators in the latest round of the bidding process.

Bids examined

Finance Minister Thierry Breton added that after the three-week review a minimum price would be fixed for the stakes.

He also warned that the government may decide not to sell one stake if the price offered was too low.

The government plans to sell its entire 50.3% stake in Autoroutes du Sud de la France (ASF), its 74.3% holding in Societe des Autoroutes du Nord et de l'Est de la France (Sanef), and a 70.2% chunk of Autoroutes Paris-Rhin-Rhone (APR).

However, unlike the recent partial privatisation of power company EDF the cash raised from the sales will be used to bring its budget deficit back under the eurozone limit of 3% of gross domestic product.

Some of the cash is also expected to be used to finance new transport infrastructure projects.

Among the firms thought to have lodged bids for the operations are Abertis of Spain and French construction group Vinci which already owns one transport firm, Cofiroute, in south west France.