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Rosebank Industries (ROSE) has suspended its shares after confirming reports that it is in talks to buy two US-based, private equity-owned businesses for $3.05bn.

Sky News reported that Rosebank was in talks to buy two companies from American Securities: CPM, a manufacturer of processing equipment for animal feed and fuels; and components maker MW Industries.

Rosebank did not name the targets but said that a potential transaction is “in line with the company’s acquisition criteria”, and if it goes ahead would require an equity raise of about £1.9bn.

Rosebank Industries was founded by two of the founders of Melrose Industries (MRO), Simon Peckham and Christopher Miller, alongside other former executives of the group. Their intention is to repeat the same “buy, improve, sell” model developed at what is now a FTSE 100-listed engineering group.

ITM Power (ITM), the maker of electrolysers used to produce hydrogen, said that a customer has given the green light to push ahead with a previously announced deal to develop what chief executive Dennis Schulz described as an “industrial scale” project.

The company provided no other details, other than saying it has been added to its backlog and adding that it would elaborate on the details towards the end of the first quarter. Still, the shares rose by 5 per cent on the news.

Zurich Insurance (CH:ZURN) has been granted an extension until 4 March to make a firm offer for FTSE 100 cyber insurance specialist Beazley (BEZ) or walk away.

Earlier this month, Beazley agreed in principle to the “key financial terms” of an £8bn takeover approach from the Swiss group. The original deadline under London market takeover rules for Zurich to announce a firm intention to make an offer was today, 16 February.

Beazley said that Zurich’s due diligence is “progressing as planned”. The pair are “simultaneously discussing the detailed terms of the transaction and progressing definitive transaction documentation”.