The French government will on Wednesday announce the sale of a stake in Francaises des Jeux, the world’s third largest lottery operator with annual sales of €9.5bn ($14.7bn).

It was unclear on Tuesday night how big a stake would be sold or how much would be raised. But the French government has in recent weeks indicated that it is prepared to sell more of its state shareholdings to fund a host of initiatives such as the reform of its universities. Speculation has focused on the sale of a further stake in EDF, the French energy group.