FRANKFURT: Beijing Enterprises (BE), a Chinese public utilities provider, is to acquire German energy group EEW for 1.44 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in one of the biggest-ever direct investments by China in Germany, EEW’s owners said on Thursday. Swedish private equity group EQT, which acquired a 51 per cent stake in the German energy-from-waste company EEW in 2013, said in a statement that it had signed an agreement in principle with Beijing Enterprises, pending clearance by the relevant authorities. “The transaction is expected to close end of February 2016. The equity purchase price amounts to 1.438 billion euros and the transaction represents the largest Chinese direct investment in a German company to date,” EQT said.