FRANKFURT March 14 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR has launched a 2.8 billion euro ($3.06 billion) takeover offer for German electricity and energy producer Encavis, the company said on Thursday.

Elbe Bidco, an investment vehicle owned by KKR is to offer a cash consideration of 17.50 euros ($19.13) per Encavis share.

The management board and supervisory board of Encavis have expressed their support for the offer. Encavis had confirmed talks with KKR last week.

German family business Viessmann will invest as shareholder in the KKR-led consortium, after which it will hold a significant minority stake, it said in a statement. This is Viessmann's first major commitment since selling its core heating systems business to Carrier Global Corp in a 12 billion euro ($13.13 billion) deal last year.

KKR and the management board intend to delist Encavis as soon as possible after closing. The management plans to remain on board under the new ownership.

KKR has already secured 31% of shares in the Hamburg wind and solar park operator from a group of major shareholders, as both sides announced on Thursday.

The financial investor's offer is 30% above the closing price of Encavis shares listed in the MDAX small cap index on Thursday.

($1 = 0.9147 euros) (Reporting by Tristan Veyet and Marleen Kaesebier in Gdansk, Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt Editing by Miranda Murray and Tomasz Janowski)