French and Benelux stocks - Factors to watch on Nov 9

PARIS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Below are company-related news and leading stories from French and Benelux newspapers which could have an impact on the region's markets or individual stocks. BOURBON The offshore group said third-quarter revenues rose 3.1 percent to 246.8 million euros. TECHNIP The group said it had been awarded a lump sum contract by ENI US Operating for the Appaloosa development project in the Gulf of Mexico. This project consists of the tie-back of the Appaloosa well located in Mississippi Canyon, 145 nautical miles (268 kilometers) offshore Mobile, Alabama at a water depth of approximately 2,825 feet (860 meters), to the Corral platform. AXA Europe's second-biggest insurer sought to double its bet on Asian growth and unveiled a planned $7 billion buy-out of its Asian assets and sale of its Australian assets to local rival AMP Ltd. In order to help fund the buyout of the Asian assets, AXA SA said it would seek to raise 2 billion euro ($3 billion) through a right issue. CREDIT AGRICOLE Credit Agricole will name Jean-Paul Chifflet as new chief executive of France's largest bank by branches next year, a source within the bank said on Friday, confirming a report on the website of Les Echos. "It's a given," said the source, adding that Chifflet, the 60-year-old vice-president of the board and general manager of a local regional branch, had only very recently been picked. Newspaper Le Figaro said on its website that the bank's chairman, Rene Carron, would later step down and make way for Jean-Marie Sander, also an executive from within Credit Agricole. No one at the bank was available to comment. AREVA Private equity fund CVC has pulled out of talks with General Electric about a possible joint bid for the power and transmission unit of France's Areva , a French financial news service reported on Sunday. Spokesmen for the firms involved could not immediately be reached. State-owned nuclear reactor group Areva is selling its T&D unit and has selected Japan's Toshiba, a consortium led by U.S.-based GE, and French partners Alstom and Schneider Electric as possible buyers. Binding offers are expected for Nov. 9 ahead of an Areva decision for Nov. 16. EIFFAGE Third quarter sales at French public works group Eiffage slipped 1.1 percent as construction of new offices in France remained weak. Analysts at Societe Generale and Deutsche Bank had been expecting a small increase for the quarter. The decline was less than the 2.1 percent year-on-year drop of the second quarter. VIVENDI General Electric Co. and Comcast Corp have agreed on a valuation of around $30 billion for a joint venture between NBC Universal and Comcast, ironing out what has been a key obstacle in talks so far, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The resolution of that issue brings the parties one step closer to an agreement, but French media conglomerate Vivendi , which owns 20 percent of NBC Universal, has not yet agreed to a deal, the source said. ________________________________________________________ For a diary of top European results and forecasts For the Itraxx Europe CDS index see For blue-chip stocks news see For small- and mid-cap stocks news see For research on FTSEurofirst 300 companies _______________________________________________________ To view related displays double click on the following codes: Main stock markets: Dow Jones............... Wall Street report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. European stocks stories. CAC-40................. AEX index............. World Indices....... Bel-20 index........... Bel-20 futures...... AEX futures......... French mid-smallcap .. Dutch midcap index.. AEX options......... Luxx index......... Dutch earnings poll.. French diary... Belgian/Luxembourg diary Dutch diary... European equity diary... ______________________________________________________ Reuters survey of world bourse outlook.......... Western European IPO diary........................... European Asset Allocation......................... Reuters News at a Glance: Equities............... Main currency report:............................... FTSE Eurotop 300 index............................ DJ STOXX index.................................... Eurotop 300 sector gainers/losers............. Top 25 European pct gainers..................... Top 25 European pct losers...................... European Equities speed guide.................. Pan European indices........................... (Paris newsroom [phone], [e-mail] Amsterdam [phone], [e-mail] Brussels ++32 2 287 6810, [e-mail]) Keywords: MARKETS FRANCE BENELUX/STOCKS =2 PARIS COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved.

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