Ingenico shares hit after Safran blocks foreign bid

French industry minister Eric Besson said the state was talking with Safran, adding Ingenico was a "strategic" business (Reuters)

Safran (SAF.PA), 30 percent owned by France and which holds 22.5 percent of Ingenico, likely blocked the 1.44 billion euro ($1.9 billion) offer as a result of government pressure to prevent the company passing into foreign hands, analysts said.

Ingenico makes some fingerprint enabled point of sale hardware.

Safran is in the process of finalizing its purchase of much of L-1.