By Inti Landauro

PARIS--The French government would make the final decision on any deal between Areva SA (AREVA.FR) and Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) regarding Areva's nuclear reactor business, as the French state is the majority shareholder of both companies, Philippe Varin, Areva's chairman and a board member at EDF, said Tuesday.

"It is the state, as the controlling shareholder of both companies, that must decide on the matter, and it has said it would do so before the summer," Mr. Varin told reporters on the sidelines of EDF's annual shareholders meeting.

Mr. Varin said a deal between EDF and Areva must make business sense and allow Areva to continue as "a robust actor" in the nuclear industry.

Mr. Varin also said Areva is currently talking to other potential partners.

EDF Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy said Tuesday that his company would offer "a fair market price" in the coming days for Areva NP, the company's unit that manufactures nuclear reactors.

Mr. Varin said he had a clear idea of the valuation of the unit, but declined to disclose it.

Areva is under severe financial strain after booking four consecutive annual losses due to an adverse market for nuclear reactors since the Fukushima disaster, poor investment decisions and cost overruns on two projects in France and Finland.

Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com

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