Dutch utility Essent NV said Wednesday it has decided to cancel the sale of Essent Milieu, as the bidders' offers weren't satisfactory and said it will consult its shareholders about the future of the waste management unit.

Essent spokesman Jeroen Brouwers told Dow Jones Newswires that the prices offered by the remaining bidders didn't meet the company's criteria.

Brouwers added he couldn't say what will happen with Essent Milieu now that the sale process is cancelled. "We'll have to discuss the options with our shareholders first."

In May, Dow Jones Newswires reported that three potential buyers were in the race to buy Essent Milieu. They included the Orange consortium, consisting of infrastructure funds managed by Dutch banks NIBC Bank and Fortis Bank Netherlands; Covanta Holding Corp. (CVA) together with an unnamed financial party; and private equity firm PAI Partners.

Earlier this year, the lion's share of Essent's activities was sold to German utilities company RWE AG (RWE.XE) for EUR9.3 billion. This excluded Essent's power grids business and Essent Milieu.

Essent Milieu was put up for sale in February in a deal that was being advised by ING (INGA.AE) and Credit Suisse (CS).

Essent wanted to sell its waste management unit before the completion of the takeover by RWE, which is due in the third-quarter of 2009.

As previously reported by Dow Jones Newswires, the waste management unit is likely to be valued at around EUR1 billion.

-By Maarten van Tartwijk and Robin van Daalen; Dow Jones Newswires; +31-20-5715200; maarten.vantartwijk@dowjones.com