Chipmaker Marvell has said it is not in talks with KKR on a major transaction such as a buyout. KKR reported a 6.8 percent stake in the company two weeks ago making many think that it might be headed for a buyout.

The chipmaker made the disclosure in a filing with the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, where it is defending against a lawsuit by Carnegie Mellon University alleging patent infringement in connection with computer disk drives. The case had not been going well. US District Judge Nora Barry Fischer rejected Marvell's bid to cut $620 million from a $1.17 billion jury verdict against the company.

Carnegie Mellon claimed that the KKR investment might herald "extraordinary corporate transactions" that could threaten the university's ability to collect a final judgment. However the court was told that Marvell has no present plans for an extraordinary corporate transaction such as a buyout, merger, reorganisation or liquidation and has not been in negotiations with KKR concerning such a transaction.

Marvell claimed that KKR's recent vote of confidence, expressed by increasing its investment in Marvell, only provides further testament to Marvell's financial strength.