CNP Owners Back Cash Bid for Natixis Insurance Unit, Echos Says

By David WhitehouseNov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- CNP Assurances SA, France's largest life insurer, has the support of its shareholders for a cash bid for the insurance unit of Natixis SA, Les Echos reported, citing an unidentified person.State-owned Caisse des Depots et Consignations, which is CNP's largest investor, the French postal service's banking unit La Banque Postale and mutual bank Groupe Caisse d'Epargne are willing to contribute to the bid in line with their CNP stakes, the newspaper said. Natixis hopes to get between 800 million euros ($1.03 billion) and 1 billion euros for its insurance arm, Les Echos said.To contact the reporter on this story: David Whitehouse in Paris at dwhitehouse1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: November 10, 2008 01:16 EST