Siemens, Brazilian prosecutors eyeing settlement over bribery lawsuit - newspaper

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - German industrial group Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE) is negotiating a settlement worth more than 1 billion reais (£227.7 million) with Brazilian state prosecutors over a civil case related to probes into whether bribes were paid to win train contracts, according to a Monday newspaper report.

The Estado de S. Paulo reported that lawyers for Siemens and Sao Paulo state prosecutors met last week to discuss the deal, which it said is on the cusp of being sealed and would require the company to admit to illicit acts. The paper cited unnamed sources within the state prosecutors office.

Siemens declined to comment. Prosecutors confirmed the meeting took place, but declined to offer further details.

The lawsuit accuses Siemens of forming a cartel and paying bribes to win a contract to provide trains for the Sao Paulo metropolitan transit system between 1998 and 2008. The lawsuit asks for 1 billion reais in damages, the paper said.

Since reaching a leniency agreement with antitrust watchdog CADE in 2013, Siemens has discussed terms of continued cooperation with prosecutors and promised to deliver more evidence against public officials, the paper said.

Prosecutors told the paper the evidence was not yet delivered by the company.

(Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Lisa Shumaker)