UPDATE 2-Brazil's Oi says close to Brasil Telecom deal

(Recasts with revised Oi statement, closing stock prices)

SAO PAULO, March 28 (Reuters) - Brazilian telecommunications group Oi Participacoes (TNE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it was close to an agreement to acquire local rival Brasil Telecom after months of negotiations.

"The relevant obstacles to negotiations among the controlling shareholders of BRT are close to being resolved, and if this is confirmed, negotiations should intensify and take on a new pace toward finalizing the planned acquisition," Oi said in a note to Brazil's market regulator late on Friday.

But the merger talks between the two companies "continue to be unresolved for now," the statement went on to say.

In so saying, the company back-tracked on a stronger statement it had given Reuters earlier in the day when an Oi spokeswoman said: "An agreement has been reached. The deal will be formalized next week. Before then, Oi is not going to discuss any financial details."

The deal, which would create a home-grown telecoms giant with about 70 percent of Brazil's fixed-line market, could be worth as much as 8 billion reais ($4.6 billion), Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper reported on Friday.

Valor Economico, Brazil's leading business daily, valued the deal between 4.5 billion reais ($2.5 billion) and 5.3 billion reais ($3.04 billion), in line with an estimate provided by Oi in February.

Brasil Telecom (BRTP4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research)(BRP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) declined to comment.

Oi (TNLP4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research), formerly known as Telemar, has been in talks with Brasil Telecom at least since the beginning of the year, setting off a public debate about whether Brazil's strict regulatory framework for the telecoms sector should be overhauled to allow for consolidation.