The statement follows a Sky News report that Kuwait's state fund was in talks for a stake in the company after the maker of Trent engines said it was considering a rights issue of up to 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion).

Rolls-Royce, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, had confirmed the equity raise this week in response to media reports that followed months of speculation about its finances.

($1 = 0.7872 pounds)

(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)