open my $if1, '<', $input_f1 or die "Can't open $input_f1: $!\n";
open my $if2, '<', $input_f2 or die "Can't open $input_f2: $!\n";
while(<$if1>) {  # Read each line of file1
    my $line = $_;
    chomp($line);
    my ($key1, $vf1, $vf2)  = split(/\*/, $line);
    seek($if2, 0, 0); # Make sure file handle point to the beginning of the file 
    while (<$if2>) {  # Read each line of file2
        my $line2 = $_;
        chomp($line2);
        my ($key2, $value) = split(/\*/, $line2);
        if ($key1 eq $key2) {
            $vf1 = $value;
############ <strike>
#        } else {
#            $vf1 = ' ';
############ </strike>
        }
    }
############ <add>
    print join( '*', $key1, $vf1, $vf2 ), "\n";
############ </add>
}