Vestas Wind Systems, the world's largest maker of wind turbines, said it is in talks with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. on possible "strategic cooperation."
"If the dialogue results in an agreement, Vestas will make a company announcement on the issue immediately thereafter," the Denmark-based company said Monday in a statement.
Speculation that Vestas may be an acquisition target has mounted since the Sunday Times reported July 1 that the company was considering putting itself up for sale after starting debt-restructuring talks with lenders.
A partnership between Vestas and Mitsubishi Heavy would coincide with a push by Japan to encourage more development of renewable sources of power.
The government in July introduced an incentive program to promote investments in clean energy. The so-called feed-in tariff for wind is ¥23.1 per kwh for 20 years, almost double the market rate for industrial users. Feed-in tariffs require utilities to pay above-market rates to producers of clean energy, with the added costs passed on to consumers as surcharges.