FRANKFURT (Reuters) – U.S. auto parts maker Wabco Holdings Inc on Tuesday confirmed that it has been approached by German rival ZF Friedrichshafen for a potential takeover.
Shares in the brakes maker, which had a market capitalization of $6.2 billion as of Tuesday close, rose 10 percent before being halted.
German daily Handelsblatt first reported that ZF Friedrichshafen is considering a takeover of Wabco.
“ZF regularly reviews strategic options for action, including acquisitions, but there is no decision in this direction,” a company spokesman said.
ZF has done large acquisitions in the past and in 2014 bought TRW Automotive for $13.5 billion to expand into the potentially lucrative self-driving car market.
In June, ZF Chief Executive Wolf-Henning Scheider, when asked if Wabco could still be of interest, said that brakes were not a priority for ZF at the moment as it focuses on the switch to electric and autonomous driving.
ZF plans to invest more than 12 billion euros into e-mobility and autonomous driving.
Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Edward Taylor, Jane Merriman and Sriraj Kalluvila