Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) said it remains committed to selling nearly half of its nuclear business to Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR), expecting a decision on the deal from Maryland regulators later Friday.

Constellation Chairman and Chief Executive Mayo Shattuck reiterated the Baltimore power company remains on track for the sale during a third-quarter earnings conference call. Questions have been raised about the completion of deal following a report in the Financial Times earlier Friday that EDF is facing pressure from the French government to abandon it, citing unidentified government officials.

Shattuck said Constellation should receive a final decision on the deal from Maryland regulators at noon EDT and will move forward given the ruling is fair and reasonable. This is the final regulatory decision the deal needs with Maryland regulators deciding earlier this year they wanted to take a deeper looking at the agreement.

The French government has so far taken no position on whether state-controlled EDF should drop the $4.5 billion deal, but EDF's designated chairman and chief executive, Henri Proglio, told lawmakers this week that he had doubts about whether the investment in Constellation is in the company's best interests, a French government senior official told Dow Jones Newswires Friday.

EDF has agreed to buy 49.9% of Constellation's nuclear assets and build four nuclear reactors.

-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2457; mark.peters@dowjones.com

(Geraldine Amiel in Paris contributed to this report.)