Summary The German groups Axel Springer and Bertelsmann have also been mentioned.
PARIS (AFP) - France opposes exclusive talks between Orange and Hong Kong s PCCW group for a 49 percent stake in Dailymotion, the finance ministry said Wednesday, indicating a preference for a European partner for the French video-sharing platform.
"There cannot be exclusive negotiations," a finance ministry source told AFP, confirming a report in the daily Le Monde.
"All options must be examined, taking into account concern for European sovereignty," he said.
PCCW, which is owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing s son Richard, had no comment when contacted by AFP.
Le Monde said the French holding company Fimalac was interested in Orange s video platform, in which the state has a 24.9 percent stake.
The German groups Axel Springer and Bertelsmann have also been mentioned.
In 2013 France s then industrial renewal minister, Arnaud Montebourg, blocked a bid by Yahoo! of the United States to acquire Dailymotion, then valued at $300 million.
Orange CEO Stephane Richard said in mid-March that "simple negotiations" had opened with PCCW to take a 49 percent stake in Dailymotion and they were not exclusive.
Richard said PCCW, with activities in telecoms, media and other sectors, was a "powerful actor that could give us access to the Chinese market."
Li Ka-shing s Hutchison Whampoa bought British telecom giant O2 last month for $15.2 billion (14.1 billion euros), a move that expanded the tycoon s holdings in the international telecoms industry.
Hutchison already owns Britain s Three mobile phone network and if it merges with O2, Li would control the country s largest mobile company.
