Reuters) - Hitachi Ltd (6501.T), Japan's largest industrial electronics maker, is close to buying British nuclear new-build project Horizon in a deal expected to be worth more than 50 billion yen ($628.46 million), Japanese media said on Saturday.

Horizon, which plans to build 6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity, was put up for sale by its German owners E.ON AG (EONGn.DE) and RWE AG (RWEG.DE) in March, as Germany's decision to pull out of nuclear power hurt the utilities' finances.

"Hitachi has made the best offer and has a good chance to get Horizon," a source inside the consortium familiar with the process told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Another person with knowledge of the proceedings also said Hitachi was likely to be the winner.

Another newspaper, the Mainichi daily, reported that in addition to building the nuclear units, Hitachi is also expected to win a contract for about 40 years to operate and maintain the reactors.

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