(Adds no comment from Criteria, CVC and GIP in paragraph 3, details on Algeria and market valuation in paragraphs 7 and 8)

MADRID, June 10 (Reuters) - The board of Abu Dhabi's TAQA has decided to withdraw from negotiations to launch a joint takeover bid with Spanish holding Criteria for Spanish gas firm Naturgy, El Mundo newspaper reported on Monday citing unidentified market sources.

TAQA's decision to drop the joint bid with Spanish holding Criteria is final, El Mundo reported, citing people familiar with the talks.

Naturgy and Criteria, which owns a 26.7% stake in the gas company, declined to comment while TAQA was not immediately available for comment.

TAQA was in talks Naturgy's three largest shareholders - Criteria and private equity funds CVC and GIP, which each own more than 20% - with a view to a possible takeover bid, it said in April.

It then said there was no guarantee a deal would happen and, if it were to, under what terms. It then added it had not approached Naturgy directly.

CVC and GIP declined to comment.

TAQA, a power and water utility founded in 2005, was set to acquire Spain's largest gas firm, together with contracts with Algeria and also a long-term contract to import some 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) every year.

With Naturgy's market value at 24.3 billion euros ($26.14 billion) on Monday, the move would have been one of the largest takeovers by a sovereign wealth fund.

($1 = 0.9297 euros) (Reporting by Pietro Lombardi and Jesús Aguado; writing by David Latona; editing by Jason Neely and David Gregorio)