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UPDATE 3-Finmeccanica board discusses joint Fiat Avio bid

(Adds source saying Finmeccanica discussed joint bid, paragraphs 1-3)

By Paolo Biondi and Jean-Michel Belot

ROME/PARIS, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The board of Italian defence firm Finmeccanica discussed on Tuesday buying Fiat Avio with French aerospace group Snecma [SNEC.UL], which says it wants control in any joint bid for the aviation division.

"In the course of the board of directors meeting, the directors advised the board of their intention of presenting an offer for Fiat Avio, together with Snecma," a source told Reuters.

There was no official comment from Finmeccanica.

Snecma Chairman Jean-Paul Bechat reconfirmed his interest in the aviation unit which Fiat is expected to sell to raise cash for its ailing carmaker, but recognised Snecma would need an Italian partner to get the purchase approved.

Fiat Avio, the most profitable unit in Fiat's stable, services Italy's military jets and supplies the navy with engine parts. The government is thought to be putting Finmeccanica under pressure to keep the company under Italian control.

"If we are interested in Fiat Avio, it would be desirable to find an Italian partner," Bechat told a news conference, giving a "reasonable value" for Fiat Avio of 1.5 billion to 1.8 billion euros ($1.92 billion).

"We are in industry, not finance. We invest in a company to control it or to have an equal stake with a partner," he added.

Fimeccanica Chief Executive Roberto Testore -- former chief executive of loss-making Fiat Auto -- said last week he had talked "a very little" to Snecma about a joint bid for Fiat Avio but that there had been no formal talks.

Snecma is fully controlled by the French government.

Aerospace analysts said Fiat Avio's expertise in gearboxes and low-pressure turbines would fit with and add to Snecma's business, which includes high-pressure turbine components.

But a link-up with Finmeccanica, whose businesses range from training fighter jets to microchips, made far less sense.

"There's very little product or customer fit there," said Harry Breach, global aerospace analyst at Banc of America.

Other options open to Snecma -- one of Europe's top aircraft engine makers alongside Rolls-Royce -- would be to pair up with an Italian investment firm or Fiat itself, if the struggling industrial group decided to keep a stake.

Italian media reported on Tuesday that U.S. private equity fund The Carlyle Group had offered 1.6 billion to 1.7 billion euros to buy Fiat Avio. The Carlyle Group declined to comment.

Finmeccanica's shares were little changed at 0.4950 euros in Milan on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Jason Neely in London)