DOMINION CALLS BURLINGTON <BUR> REPORT RUMOR <Dominion Textile Inc> considers a published report that it has bought a stake in Burlington Industries Inc and is considering making a joint bid for the company to be a rumor, a company spokesman said. "As far as I am concerned and the company is concerned, they are rumors and we're not commenting on rumors," spokesman Michel Dufour told Reuters in response to a query. "All the information that has been given out publicly is that, yes, Dominion Textile is interested in making an acquisition that big...probably based on that people are starting all sorts of rumors," he said. Dufour said yes when asked whether the report was only a rumor, but said the company was not prepared to comment further. Dominion Textile president and chairman Thomas Bell was out of town and unavailable for comment. Dominion Textile last year made an unsuccesful 104-mln- U.S.-dlr bid for Avondale Mills and has maintained a 120-mln- U.S.-dlr line of credit to be used for an American acquisition. Dufour said the company has been negotiating with "many" U.S. textile companies but would not say whether Burlington Industries was one of them. Burlington's stock rose sharply this morning on the report, which said Dominion Textile had joined with U.S. investor Asher Edelman to buy a stake in the company and to consider making a takeover offer. Dominion Textile, which reported operating profit of 11.1 mln Canadian dlrs last year on sales of 926.5 mln dlrs, has repeatedly said it will concentrate on expanding into the U.S. The company has said it plans to diversify into new product and market areas in addition to expanding its textile operations.