Invensys says Emerson talks failed Invensys, whose products include controls for washing machines, confirmed on Thursday morning that it had held preliminary discussions with third parties about an offer for parts of the group, but that that the talks had come to an end without an offer. "The Company also confirms that, whilst it had previously received a highly preliminary approach from Emerson Electric for the group, these discussions are no longer ongoing," said Invensys. Furthermore there are no other discussions taking place in relation to an offer for the group. Invensys' statement came after its shares leapt almost 40pc during late afternoon trading on Wednesday following the publication of a Bloomberg report claiming the business is "evaluating options including a sale." Bloomberg reported that the move to consider a sale followed US industrial giant Emerson Electric expressing "interest in buying some or all of the Invensys." The news agency also claimed Emerson was mainly interested in Invensys's Foxboro unit, which makes meters and control systems, but could consider a deal for the whole of the London-listed business to get hold of the Foxboro division. Last month, there was speculation that several American and European industrial giants - such as Siemens, ABB and General Electric - had all been weighing offers for Invensys. Support for the takeover speculation had appeared to be running out of steam on Wednesday afternoon. The shares ended the day up 54 - almost 27pc - at 257p, capitalising the group at £2.1bn.