Areva chief executive officer Luc Oursel said that they would be interested in bidding for a stake in Urenco, which is owned by two top German utilities and the UK and the Netherlands.

Oursel told French newspaper Le Figaro that Areva, a nuclear group, could become a leading contender to acquire a stake in Urenco, which they already have partnership with.

Germany's top utilities RWE and E.ON are selling their combined 33% stake in Urenco after a Germany decided to phase out nuclear energy. Both the British and Dutch states have also decided to sell their 33% stakes in the firm.

Urenco and Areva jointly own a company named Enrichment Technology Co. which is a producer of uranium enrichment centrifuges.

Cameco Corp., a Canadian uranium producer, also showed interest in buying the nuclear fuel producer.