Airbus, Safran and aerospace fund make offer for Aubert & Duval - report

PARIS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Airbus, Safran and aerospace-focused fund Ace Aero Partenaires have submitted a non-binding offer for superalloys supplier Aubert & Duval (A&D), part of French mining company Eramet, French website Latribune.fr said on Friday.

"Each member of this consortium will finance a third of the purchase of Eramet's unit", the website reported, adding the consortium had already considered such a move last autumn.

No one was immediately available at Eramet to comment on the article. Airbus and Safran declined to comment.

Eramet said in June it had launched a strategic review of its A&D subsidiary, after a third of its activity was cancelled by the coronavirus crisis, and would consider all options for the 113-year-old business.

A&D is seen as emblematic of the turbulence hitting suppliers in the Occitanie region, southwest France, where a total of 40,000 aerospace jobs are seen at risk.

Its advanced superalloys are used in engines for the French Rafale fighter and the LEAP commercial engine, co-produced for Boeing and Airbus by Safran and General Electric.

Airbus is also A&D's biggest direct customer. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz and Tim Hepher; Writing by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Jane Merriman)