Wärtsilä quashes takeover proposals from Rolls-Royce

An official statement issued by the company today (9 January 2014) says: “Wärtsilä Corporation notes the recent speculation about a potential transaction between Rolls-Royce Plc and Wärtsilä. We confirm the approach by Rolls-Royce with a preliminary proposal for a possible offer for the company. In case the company receives such proposals, the Wärtsilä Board has an obligation to evaluate such proposals.However, we confirm that there are no longer ongoing discussions with Rolls-Royce.”

The reports apparently originated from speculation by US business and financial news provider Bloomberg which quoted three people “familiar with the matter” who said that Rolls-Royce was in talks with Wartsila about acquitting the latter’s marine propulsion business.