PARIS, June 14 Reuters French business leaders Xavier Niel, Matthieu Pigasse and MoezAlexandre Zouari have expressed an interest in bidding up to 1.1 billion euros 1.2 billion for Casino, potentially offering an alternative lifeline for the indebted French supermarket group.

The trio had signalled last week they were readying an offer for Casino after tieup talks between the company and smaller retail rival Teract collapsed.

Casino, which last month started courtbacked negotiations with its creditors, said on Wednesday the three would invest between 200 and 300 million euros themselves, with the rest provided by unspecified partners including Casino creditors wishing to invest in the company39;s equity.

At this stage, this is not a firm offer but a preliminary expression of interest which may not be successful. The group will study this expression of interest and keep the market informed, Casino said.

The proposal comes after Czech entrepreneur Daniel Kretínsky, Casino39;s secondlargest shareholder, offered in April to take control of the group through a 1.1 billion euro capital increase.

Casino, headed and controlled by veteran entrepreneur JeanCharles Naouri and owner of the Franprix and Monoprix chains, has been struggling for years with high debt, falling revenues and market share losses in an increasingly competitive market.

It had consolidated net debt of 6.4 billion euros at the end of last year and faces 3 billion euros of debt repayments in the next two…