British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), which currently controls Westinghouse, will make its final decision at a board meeting on Thursday, Britain's Financial Times said, citing a person close to the British state-owned firm.

Toshiba declined to comment on the report.

Markets had expected a price in the range of two billion dollars when BNFL put Westinghouse up for sale in July but bidding has become exceptionally fierce in recent weeks, the newspaper said.

Toshiba was competing against General Electric of the United States, which has formed a partnership with Japan's Hitachi, and with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan.

Toshiba was favored because it would likely allow Westinghouse to run the business on its own while GE's more aggressive style could have jeopardized winning a contract in China, the report said.

It said the bidding war had reached the highest levels of government, with US President George W. Bush even reportedly pressing British Prime Minister Tony Blair to choose GE.

Some US politicians have called for a US company to control Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse given the sensitivity of nuclear issues.

The Bush administration wants to relaunch construction of nuclear reactors in the United States given the soaring cost of crude oil.

The United States turned away from nuclear power after a 1979 meltdown at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania. No new reactor has been put into service in the United States since May 1996.

Japan depends on nuclear power for 30 percent of its energy needs but the sector offers little growth for companies. Few towns are willing to host nuclear plants and electricity demand is slack in the slow growing Japanese economy.

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