An announcement could be made as early as this week, said The Observer weekly, saying the board of British Energy was expected to recommend the takeover once EDF, the world's biggest nuclear energy producer, tables its bid.

Rival bidders RWE from Germany and Spain's Iberdrola have not yet formally given up on grabbing British Energy.

Banking scources told The Observer that it was now "unlikely" that either would table a bid for the firm, in which the British government has a 35.2-percent stake.

EDF is in talks with banks to secure the 11.5 billion pounds (22.6 billion dollars, 14.4 million euros) needed, wrote The Sunday Telegraph newspaper. The same figure was also mentioned Saturday in the French newspaper Le Figaro.

The price has been estimated at between 9.2 and 10.2 million pounds.

EDF "has begun fundraising in order to formalise its bid," said The Sunday Telegraph, adding that the French firm was in "advanced talks" with British Energy.

The Observer said EDF "could be ready to table its final, fully financed bid towards the end of this week."

British Energy, the biggest British power generator, is a privatised company providing nearly 19 percent of the country's electricity and owning eight of its 10 nuclear power stations.

Interest from abroad comes at a time when Britain plans a new generation of nuclear reactors and would open up a particularly lucrative market.

Purchase of British Energy would enable EDF, already Europe's leading electricity producer, to strengthen yet further its domination of the European market.

The British government approved a new generation of nuclear power stations in January, signalling that they were likely to be built on or near existing sites primarily by private firms.

EDF currently faces a fairly bleak growth rate on its regulated domestic market and makes no secret of its desire to expand elsewhere in Europe.

British Energy would thus be a highly desirable acquisition for EDF which already controls nearly half of European nuclear capacity.

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