Dec 16 - French retailer Carrefour will decide whether to spin off or do an initial public offering of its property unit estimated to be worth 11 billion euros ($14.65 billion) in the first half of next year, according to Les Echos.

The operation is part of a broader bid by Carrefour to return money to shareholders and improve profits at the world's second largest retailer by sales after two profit warnings this year.

CEO Lars Olofsson, a former Nestle executive, took over Carrefour in 2009 with a mandate from shareholders Colony Capital and Groupe Arnault to turn around the underperforming company.

"According to several sources, the company has started working on this transaction again, and a decision would be made in the first half of 2011," wrote the paper, adding that investment banks UBS and Rothschild have been mandated.

Carrefour Property is the holding created in 2004, which owns a majority but not all the stores and sites of the retailer in five countries. It includes 275 hypermarkets and 500 supermarkets, according to the paper.

(Editing by Mike Nesbit)