Spain's Asterion to buy German utility Steag for $2.7 billion -sources

By Andres Gonzalez, Emma-Victoria Farr and Tom Käckenhoff

FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF (Reuters) -Spanish infrastructure investor Asterion has agreed to acquire German utility Steag, beating Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to win the asset, sources involved in the negotiations told Reuters on Friday.

Asterion's offer values the business at around 2.5 billion euros ($2.70 billion) including debt, according to two of the sources.

Steag's supervisory board and the municipalities that own Steag held meetings on Friday afternoon to vote on a final decision for the company's future ownership, the sources said.

Asterion Industrial Partners is an infrastructure fund active in the fields of energy, telecommunications and mobility, with investments worth around 5 billion euros ($5.39 billion).

Kretinsky, who was vying to buy Steag through his energy holding company EPH, teamed up to bid with Germany's RAG foundation, which helps Germany transform coal mining regions into areas for renewable energy, according to media reports.

The Czech billionaire, who built his wealth in the energy industry, has recently embarked on an acquisition spree in Europe. He has already struck a deal to purchase struggling French retailer Casino and is currently in discussions to become a shareholder in the IT consulting company Atos.

Steag, Asterion, EPH and the consortium of utilities that own Steag declined to comment.

Steag still operates six coal power plants in western Germany and will require significant investment in its aim to transform into a renewables company. Both bidders submitted coal decommissioning plans as part of the sale process, the sources said.

($1 = 0.9269 euros)

(Reporting by Emma-Victoria Farr, Andres Gonzalez Estebaran, Tom Kaeckenhoff and Jan LopatkaWriting by Rachel MoreEditing by Thomas Escritt and Susan Fenton)