Toshiba Corp plans to make a joint bid with Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) for Areva's power transmission and distribution business, two people familiar with the matter said.

Sources have said the unit could be worth more than 500 billion yen ($5.5 billion). Areva has chosen Japan's Toshiba, General Electric and French partners Alstom and Schneider Electric as possible buyers.

Toshiba, eager to shore up its power business, is in the final stages of talks with Abu Dhabi National Energy Co to make a joint bid, with final offers due to be submitted by November 9, the two people told Reuters.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co, founded in 2005, has invested globally in power generation, upstream oil and gas services and in pipelines.

Toshiba is also considering tapping a recently created body backed by the Japanese government to secure funds for the deal, the two people said. No one at Toshiba could be immediately reached for comment.
   

Toshiba had bid on its own for the Areva unit in the first round in September but has since been negotiating with potential partners to help it shoulder the financial burden.

Toshiba, which issued $5 billion worth of shares in June, had a shareholders' equity ratio of 13.5 percent as of the end of September, below that of peers Fujitsu Ltd and NEC Corp and the 20-30 percent considered to be a solid level.

Toshiba would tap the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, set up in July to invest in new technologies, pooling 82 billion yen in public funds and 8.5 billion yen from 17 private sector firms, including GE.

A government guarantee backs up to 800 billion yen worth of investment by the fund, allowing the fund to invest up to 900 billion yen.

Earnings at Toshiba, the world's No.2 maker of NAND flash memory, remain tied to volatility in the semiconductor market, and the company is eager to shift more weight to its power systems operations, which span nuclear power and smart grids.

Areva T&D is the world's No.3 supplier of power transmission and distribution with 11 percent market share in an estimated $80 billion market.   

Analysts had worried that while an acquisition of Areva T&D would help Toshiba's electrical power systems, the cost would dent its finances, weighed down by its acquisition of US nuclear firm Westinghouse in 2006.

Toshiba logged its first operating profit in four quarters in July-September, thanks to a recovery in microchip prices and cost cuts. - Reuters