Brookfield and China Three Gorges said to mull bids for Duke plants

Brookfield Asset Management Inc, Canada's biggest alternative asset manager, and China Three Gorges Corp are among companies weighing offers for Duke Energy Corp's Latin American power plants, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Chinese government-owned electricity generator State Power Investment Corp is also considering bidding for the assets. The sale could fetch more than $2 billion, according to the sources.

Duke Energy, the second-largest US utility owner by market value, said in February it's considering the sale of about 4,400 megawatts of generating capacity in Central and South America. Half the assets are in Brazil, where drought and an economic downturn hurt Duke Energy's results last year, with the remainder in Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Peru. Hydroelectric plants make up about two-thirds of the portfolio, according to the February statement.