German utility RWE (RWEG.DE) said on Friday that completion of the sale of its oil and gas unit DEA [RWEDE.UL] to Russian tycoon Mikhail Fridman was imminent, following a media report that it would be concluded on Monday.
A spokeswoman said RWE was confident it would conclude the 5 billion-euro ($5.6 billion) deal very shortly, which involves the sale to LetterOne, an investor group led by Fridman, but would only inform the market after completion.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter said, "The plan is to announce the closing of the deal on Monday."
RWE had already said last month the deal, part of an asset shedding program to reduce its debt, would go through by early March.
Earlier on Friday The Wall Street Journal had said the sale was now expected to be concluded on March 2.
The deal was first announced just under a year ago but ran into difficulties in being cleared in Britain in view of the economic sanctions imposed on Russia in its dispute with western nations over Ukraine.
But the WSJ said a "letter of comfort" giving non-binding consent to the deal could be issued this weekend by the British government after the parties allayed its concerns that Dea's North Sea gas field interests could be affected if Fridman became a target of further sanctions.
"We are examining the detail of this deal closely to consider its implications, and any action we may need to take," a spokeswoman for Britain's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) told Reuters on Friday.
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