Shares in the brakes maker, which had a market capitalisation of $6.2 billion (4.6 billion pounds) 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)