UPDATE 2-Italy's Enel wins control of Russia's OGK-5

(Adds Enel executive on OGK-5 and areas of interest, background)

MILAN/MOSCOW, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest utility Enel (ENEI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) has taken a majority stake in Russian power producer OGK-5 (OGKE.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) after offering to buy out minority shareholders, Enel said on Friday.

The move cements Enel's role as a major player in the Russian power sector, where it plans to invest 4 billion euros ($5.9 billion). Friday's buyout cost it about 24.65 billion roubles ($1 billion).

The purchase is also a milestone for the sector's reforms, which set out in 2003 to dismantle the state monopoly and introduce a competitive market, becoming the only large-scale liberalisation allowed under President Vladimir Putin.

Through Enel's buyout, 15.74 percent of OGK-5's share capital was tendered, increasing Enel's stake to 52.89 percent, Enel said in a statement. It said the results were preliminary because the transfer of shares depends on Russian regulatory approval, which it expects in days.

"In about 10 days we will know exactly the number of shares we have in hand, at which point we will be able to enter management," said the director of Enel's international division, Carlo Tamburi, attending a conference in Verona, Italy.

"Russia is the biggest bet in that it is potentially a gigantic market with strong growth and above all with relatively low prices which in a certain way should adjust to European standards," he said.

Enel offered to buy out minority shareholders at 4.4275 roubles per share in November. Under Russian law, an investor owning more than 30 percent of a listed company must make a buyout offer.

However, Enel has said it does not intend to raise its stake above 74 percent.