Exclusive-Kretinsky's EPH, Itochu among expected bidders for Energia, sources say

By Andres Gonzalez and Emma-Victoria Farr

LONDON (Reuters) -Daniel Kretinsky-backed Czech energy group EPH and Japanese trading house Itochu are expected to make preliminary bids for Irish utility Energia Group, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

Other expected bidders include investors Ardian, Asterion and CPP Investments, the people said. Itochu is expected to form a consortium and CPP Investments may team up with Britain's Octopus Energy, which it is an investor in, one of the people said.

After being acquired by private equity firm I Squared for about $1 billion in 2016, a new sale could value Energia Group at more than 2 billion euros ($2.27 billion) including debt, the sources and a third one said.

Non-binding offers are due this week, the sources and a fourth one said. All four sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.

I Squared, CPP Investments, Itochu, EPH, Ardian, Asterion all declined to comment.  Energia Group referred questions to I Squared and Octopus Energy did not reply immediately to a request for comment.

Energia Group, which supplies approximately 17% of Ireland's total electricity requirements, is the latest power company to draw investor interest following the acquisition of Electricity North West by Iberdrola last year.

The company is an integrated utility with investments in renewables, power distribution, data centres and gas turbines.

Energia Group recently secured permission from Irish authorities to build a data centre in Dublin allowing its sale process to go ahead, three of the sources said.

Reuters first reported last year that I Squared was exploring selling Energia.

($1 = 0.8814 euros)

(Reporting by Andres Gonzalez in London and Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt; additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi; editing by Anousha Sakoui and Giles Elgood)