Vattenfall's German grid sale put on hold - sources

FRANKFURT Nov 23 (Reuters) - Swedish power group Vattenfall [VATN.UL] has balked at an imminent deal to sell its German high-voltage grid after rival E.ON (EONGn.DE) fetched a higher price for its network, financial sources told Reuters on Monday.

Vattenfall, operator of Germany's fourth-largest utility, had been willing to sell the grid for little over 500 million euros ($749 million).

It will now try to renegotiate terms after German peer E.ON sold its smaller power grid for 1.1 billion euros, the sources said. [ID:nLA660877]

Vattenfall, which had previously said a sale could be clinched this year, declined to comment.

One source said a deal could now be signed in the first few months of next year.

People with knowledge of the matter told Reuters in early November the Swedish utility had agreed in principle to the sale of its German power grid. [ID:nWEA8407]

Vattenfall has been in exclusive talks with a consortium of Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Allianz (ALVG.DE) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N) for months.

The Swedish power producer said on Nov. 16 it had appointed a new chief executive to replace Lars Josefsson, adding the change would not affect the planned sale of its German electricity grid. [ID:nBAT004962] (Reporting by Philipp Halstrick and Markus Wacket; Writing by Ludwig Burger) ($1 = 0.6679 euro) ((ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1311; Reuters Messaging: ludwig.burger.reuters.com@reuters.net))