France's CDC near control of Veolia Transdev-papers

PARIS Oct 3 (Reuters) - French state-owned bank Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) is close to a deal with partner Veolia Environnement to win control of their Veolia Transdev transport joint venture, two newspapers reported.

Veolia Environnement put its 50 percent stake in Veolia Transdev up for sale in December as part of a plan to shed 5 billion euros ($6.3 billion) in assets in order to cut debt and costs.

Veolia's planned exit from the transport unit has, however, been complicated by disagreements with CDC over strategy.

French daily Les Echos said on Wednesday that CDC last week offered to raise its stake in Veolia Trandev to 60 percent from 50 percent, while Le Figaro, citing the same figures, said the two parties had reached an agreement.

A spokeswoman for Veolia Environnement declined to comment, while CDC could not be reached immediately for comment. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)