The board of TXU, one of the US's largest utilities, was meeting yesterday to approve a $44.5 billion (€33.78 billion) takeover by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Texas Pacific Group, in what would rank as the largest private equity deal on record.
People familiar with the matter said that in the absence of any last-minute glitches in the talks, the deal - which would trump Blackstone's recent $38.9 billion (€29.6 billion) acquisition of Equity Office Properties in terms of size - could be announced later today.
The two private equity buyers are expected to pay about $32 billion (€24 billion) in cash, or just under $70 (€53) per share, for TXU. This represents a 17 per cent premium over the company's market value on Friday.
KKR and TPG will also agree to take on a $12 billion (€9 billion) chunk of TXU's outstanding debt.
A private equity takeover of TXU would extend a flurry of dealmaking by the world's largest buy-out groups, which have emerged as leading forces in high finance and business in recent years as they have snapped up some of the world's biggest companies in a wide range of industries.
TPG and KKR were global private equity's two biggest investors last year, taking part in announced deals worth $101 billion and $92 billion respectively, according to Thomson Financial.
Both are targeting large food retailers, including J Sainsbury in the UK, which would be worth more than £11 billion (€16.4 billion) in a buy-out, and Coles of Australia, which has a market value of close to €11.4 billion.
Based in Dallas, TXU is the main provider of electricity to Texas, and had angered environmentalists with plans to build 11 coal-fired power plants. It has since scrapped plans for eight of these.
