French luxury goods group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is in talks to buy French business newspaper Les Echos from British media group Pearson.
LVMH, which already owns rival French business daily La Tribune, said it would seek to guarantee the editorial independence of Les Echos in the case of an acquisition.
Les Echos journalists went on strike on Tuesday to protest against a possible sale to LVMH, which is controlled by French billionaire Bernard Arnault.
"The LVMH group attaches great importance to editorial independence which contributes to the credibility, legitimacy and success of all news media," LVMH said in a statement.
"If Les Echos is sold, LVMH would include in the agreement measures designed to guarantee this editorial independence," it added.
