Aixtron shares up on talk of Cree offer

FRANKFURT/PARIS, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Shares in German chip-equipment maker Aixtron gained as much as 3 percent on Friday and were at the top of a 0.1 percent lower tech index on talk U.S. LED maker Cree may make an offer.

Two traders said Aixtron was up on talk that the maker of light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures could make a 38 euros per share bid. 'The stock is also boosted by recent news that the fund arm of Deutsche Bank, DWS Investment, has lifted its stake in Aixtron above 5 percent,' a Paris-based trader added.

Aixtron and Cree both declined to comment.

Aixtron shares were up 1.7 percent at 30.70 euros by 0915 GMT, after gaining as much as 3 percent earlier. After one hour of trading, the volume on Aixtron shares already represented 40 percent of the stock's 90-day average daily volume, compared with 20 percent for Europe's broad STOXX 600 index. (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde, Michelle Martin in Frankfurt, Anneli Palmen in Duesseldorf, Germany, and Blaise Robinson in Paris) Keywords: AIXTRON CREE/ ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.