May 23 (Reuters) - French billionaire Xavier Niel is

considering buying out telecom firm Millicom International

Cellular S.A., his investment vehicle Atlas

Investissement said on Thursday.

The company is exploring financing options to support an

offer price of $24 per common share, Atlas said.

Niel, the founder and owner of French telecom provider

Iliad, is the top shareholder of Millicom, which provides

telecom services in Latin America through its TIGO brand.

Atlas Investissement, a wholly-owned unit of Neil's NJJ

Holding, owns a 29% stake in Millicom, according to LSEG data.

Niel's potential move was first reported by Bloomberg News,

which said that the company's recent share price increases could

make it more difficult to finalize a deal.

U.S.-listed shares of Millicom gained about 33%

this year, giving the company a market value of more than $4

billion as of last close.

The Luxembourg-based telecom firm was in talks with Apollo

Global Management ( APO ) and Claure Group about a potential bid

for the company last year.

Niel increased his stake in Millicom amid those discussions,

which analysts considered as a strategic investment that would

pose additional hurdles to the Apollo deal.

The deal talks were terminated in June last year.

Niel has telecoms investments in nine countries in Europe

with nearly 50 million active subscribers combined and more than

10 billion euros of revenues, Atlas said.

Atlas Investissement said it was independent of Iliad Group

and Iliad Holding.