* Credit Agricole-CIB hired as adviser
* Shares up 1.5 percent
(Adds analyst, updates shares)
PARIS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - French drinks group Remy Cointreau wants to sell its loss-making champagne business, which includes the Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck brands, to focus on its fast-growing cognac business.
Remy Cointreau, which has hired Credit Agricole-CIB as an adviser, was not available for further comment on Monday.
The move would allow the owner of Cointreau liqueur and Remy Martin cognac to narrow its focus on high-end brands in Asia, particularly in China where latest annual cognac sales rose 30 percent.
"This is logical, the champagne division is not very profitable," said Christine Robert, analyst at French brokerage Gilbert Dupont, who valued the business at 320 million euros ($438 million).
Remy Cointrau shares, up 46 percent this year, were 1.5 percent higher at 52.97 euros by 1500 GMT.
Its champagne business was loss-making at the operational level in its 2009/10 year when sales fell 23 percent to 96.7 million euros, and the company has said it aimed to return it to profitability in the current year. (Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt and Raoul Sachs; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter and Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.7312 euro)