PARIS, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Media technology group Thomson SA
"It is one of the options which we are working on," a spokeswoman for the group said. She declined to give details of the possible sums involved.
Le Figaro newspaper reported on Saturday that the government had been mulling using some of the 20 billion euro ($27.9 billion) fund to help the group for a few weeks and had already appointed bankers at Rothschild.
The possible intervention by the government would enable a financial and strategic restructuring of Thomson, which was at the top of the list of companies that could benefit, the paper said, without saying where it obtained the information. Thomson in October vowed to restructure or sell unprofitable businesses to bolster profits, generate cash and cut debt as many investors had been pressing for a simplification of its structure and an exit from loss-making units.
The stock has lost some 90 percent of its value this year, giving it a market value of 243 million euros, and its bonds have been downgraded to junk status amid concern over its finances and an uncertain outlook. (Reporting by James Regan)