Vekselberg-Oerlikon,Sulzer merger unlikely-paper

ZURICH, April 4 (Reuters) - Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, major shareholder in Swiss technology group Oerlikon (OERL.VX), does not have any immediate plans to merge the troubled company with engineering group Sulzer (SUN.S).

The two firms would not be brought together to solve Oerlikon's financial problems, said Vekselberg, whose holding company Renova also holds a 31 percent stake in shares in Sulzer, dismissing talk of a fusion in the short term.

"Neither of the companies is currently preparing for a merger," Vekselberg said in an interview with Switzerland's NZZ newspaper published on Saturday.

"I would like to stress that such a strategic decision would only be supported by Renova if it were to make sense from an industrial point of view," he said, adding that he could not, however, rule out a merger at some point in the future.

Vekselberg said there were synergies at the two companies' coatings units.

Oerlikon makes a range of products from coatings used in Formula One racing cars to machines used to make solar cells, while Sulzer makes pumps for the oil and gas industry as well as surface coatings for jet engines.

Oerlikon said last month it did not expect to post a profit in 2009 and that it was looking for means to cut debt and boost its balance sheet through fresh capital and asset sales.

The company is having to deal with the large amount of debt it took on in order to buy textile machinery and car parts maker Saurer in 2006.

"It is true that Oerlikon has financial difficulties. Solving this problem is the most urgent task," Vekselberg said.