AP deal to sell off French service falls through

PARIS, April 17 (Reuters) - A group backed by French investment group Bollore (BOLL.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it had withdrawn its offer to buy the French-language service of U.S. news agency Associated Press.

The deal was subject to the compulsory consultation of AP French staff representatives, who opposed to the deal saying that there was not enough clarity on the project's financial guarantees.

"Noting with regret the issues which could not be resolved, those who initiated the project ... withdraw their offer," Bertrand Eveno, a former Agence France Presse executive who led the group which made the offer, said in a statement.

AP had said in December it wanted to focus its business in France, "as elsewhere in the world", on producing text in English, as well as pictures and television. (Reporting by Jean-Baptiste Vey, writing by Swaha Pattanaik, edited by Richard Meares)