Metro, Karstadt store owners not in touch -sources

FRANKFURT May 18 (Reuters) - German retailer Metro (MEOG.DE) and the owner of the Karstadt (AROG.DE) department store buildings have not yet been in touch about Metro's proposal to merge Karstadt with its own department store chain, sources close to the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The Karstadt buildings are owned by a consortium that includes funds controlled by Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) RREEF.

Metro declined to comment.

Sources told Reuters on Sunday that Metro, the world's fourth-largest retailer, was set to hold talks with the German government this week over a plan that envisages creating a new "German Department Store Inc". [ID:nLH3690]

The plan would be for Metro to hold just under 50 percent in the new company and for the owners of the Karstadt store buildings also to hold just under 50 percent, the sources said.

(Reporting by Philipp Halstrick and Eva Kuehnen)