French nuclear group Areva SA (CEI.FR) has received several non-binding offers for its power transmission and distribution unit, a spokeswoman said Friday.

"We have received several non-binding offers and we are going to examine them in order to see which candidates will go to a binding offer," the spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires. She declined to say how many offers Areva has received.

"At the end of September we will say if we will continue the selling process, which depends upon whether we have suitable offers," the spokeswoman added.

"Or we will say we are stopping the selling process if no offer is considered acceptable," she said.

Areva announced June 30 plans to raise capital and put the T&D unit up for sale in order to finance its growth in nuclear and renewable power.

Chief Executive Anne Lauvergeon said Thursday potential buyers of the company's T&D unit have until late Friday to make their first bids.

She had also warned that if bids for the T&D unit prove insufficient, Areva would need a bigger capital increase.

A spokesman for French power and transport engineering company Alstom SA (ALO.FR) told Dow Jones Newswires earlier Friday that it intended to make a joint offer with electrical equipment maker Schneider Electric SA (SU.FR) for Areva's T&D unit.

The T&D division was previously owned by Alstom and sold to Areva in 2003 for EUR1 billion as part of Alstom's financial restructuring.

About 20 buyers, including many foreign parties, such as Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.TO), have made inquiries about Areva's T&D, a person with knowledge of the matter told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday.

Axa SA's (AXA) private equity unit's chief executive, Dominique Senequier, said in early September it was also considering making a bid for Areva T&D and looking at partners it might bid with. She said a decision wouldn't be taken until the last moment.

-By William Horobin and Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 4017 1740; william.horobin@dowjones.com

(Nathalie Boschat, Gabriele Parussini and Adam Mitchell in Paris contributed to this article)