* EDF denies is mulling sale of 20 pct British Energy stake
* Reports say EDF, Germany's E.ON planning asset swap deal
* EDF says talks with E.ON on "several topics" are ongoing
(Adds share prices, EDF and analyst comments)
PARIS/FRANKFURT, Sept 21 (Reuters) - EDF is close to securing an asset swap deal with rival utility E.ON, newspapers reported on Monday, although EDF denied plans for a new sale of a 20 percent stake in British Energy.
In May, EDF sold a 20 percent stake in British Energy to Centrica for 2.5 billion euros ($3.68 billion).
French newspaper La Tribune reported on Monday that the French electricity generator is said to be mulling the sale of a further 20 percent stake in British Energy, but a spokeswoman for the French group said there were no such plans.
"This is not on the current agenda," the EDF spokeswoman told Reuters.
Any asset swap or further British Energy stake sale would be part of EDF's ongoing effort to reduce the group's 37 billion euros of debt, analysts said.
In February, the French firm said it planned to sell 5 billion euros worth of assets to that end by the end of 2010.
La Tribune and German newspaper Handelsblatt both reported on Monday that EDF was close to reaching a wide-ranging deal with E.ON to swap 800 megawatts worth of power generation assets in France and Germany.
Such a swap would help E.ON enter the French nuclear power sector, and potentially alleviate pressure from European Commission regulators who are concerned about E.ON's market power in Germany..
EDF said in May that it was talks with E.ON over several topics, including a possible asset swap. But on Monday an EDF spokeswoman declined to comment on whether an asset swap was imminent, saying only that talks with E.ON were ongoing on "multiple topics."
E.ON declined to comment on the report.
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"Although the planned deal, which allegedly is driven by the EC Commission, would be small, it would reflect E.ON's strategy to increase the share of foreign and nuclear-based power generation," said Merck Finck analyst Theo Kitz.
"The deal would also reduce E.ON's CO2 emissions and would give E.ON more access to the closed French market."
Shares of E.ON were down 1.1 percent at 28.51 euros in late morning trade while EDF edged up 0.8 percent to 39.83 euros.
Handelsblatt said that under the deal, E.ON would take over around 800 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity from French nuclear power plants.
In exchange, E.ON would give EDF and its German unit, Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg (EnBW), some stakes in coal-fired plants in Germany.
Equinet analyst Michael Schaefer said he would welcome news of such an asset swap as stakes in French nuclear power generation are becoming more interesting with France leaving industrial power prices more flexible.
Nonetheless, he said that the most important short- to medium-term share price driver for E.ON are the German federal elections on Sept. 27.
For more on German elections double-click on ($1=.6802 Euro) (Reporting by Leila Abboud, Marie Mawad, Marilyn Gerlach, Matthias Inverardi and Maria Sheahan; editing by Simon Jessop and Hans Peters)