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The head office of engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin in Montreal.RYAN REMIORZ/The Canadian Press

A report Wednesday says SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. has been approached "informally" regarding a takeover by at least two foreign engineering firms: Spain's Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA, and Australia's WorleyParsons Ltd.

SNC says a sale is not on. "While SNC does not comment on rumours, I can say that the company is not for sale," spokesman Louis-Antoine Paquin said in an e-mail.

The Quebec government could intervene to block a sale or make one difficult if a bid by a foreign company were to become politicized, said Dundee Securities analyst Maxim Sytchev.

SNC has looked at the possibility of restructuring its business or selling itself if it does not find an acceptable resolution to the criminal corruption and fraud charges the RCMP laid in February, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

The ideal scenario is for the company to settle the matter by paying fines while being spared the likely reputational damage from a trial or guilty plea, SNC CEO Robert Card has said.

With files from reporter Nicolas Van Praet in Montreal.

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