General Electric near deal to buy Italy's Avio - sources

MILAN Dec 7 (Reuters) - General Electric Co is near a deal to acquire Italy's Avio, a privately held airplane parts supplier, people familiar with the situation on Friday.

"General Electric is in pole position; it's working on the details of the deal," said a person familiar with the situation.

The sale is being managed by Cinven, a private equity fund that controls Avio.

"It will be a busy weekend," said another person.

The sources did not provide any further details.

Press reports have valued the company at more than 3 billion euros.

France's Safran SA, with interests in airplanes, aerospace and defense, has also been in talks to buy Avio.