Frankfurt - German engineering giant Siemens is "in talks" with Rolls-Royce over a possible acquisition of its energy production arm and the supervisory board will discuss the issue on May 6, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Earlier, Rolls-Royce had confirmed in a statement that it was in talks with Siemens regarding the sale of its energy gas turbine and compressor business, but gave no indication of price.
A company spokesman added that the deal would exclude its nuclear power interests.
A source close to the matter told AFP that the division was worth about 900m ($1.5bn, €1.1bn) - the same level as its annual turnover excluding the nuclear power business.
The entire division has an annual turnover of 1.538bn.
The news comes one day after Siemens revealed it had decided to make an offer for Alstom's energy unit, in a bid to thwart a rival bid from US giant General Electric.