Manufacturing giant Emerson Electric Co (EMR.N) is in talks to merge its software assets with industrial software company Aspen Technology Inc (AZPN.O), Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Emerson is discussing a deal to combine its software assets with Aspen Tech and gain majority control of the combined company, the report said, adding that Aspen Tech would keep its own public listing. Emerson, which has a suite of products ranging from automation software to air conditioning tools, and Aspen Tech did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comments. Based on the closing price on Wednesday, Aspen had a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, while Emerson was worth $57.17 billion. Aspen has long been considered an attractive takeover target for big industrial companies looking to expand in software, Bloomberg News reported in May. Bedford, Massachusetts-based Aspen has more than 2,300 customers globally, its website showed. It makes software for companies in the mining, chemicals, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and other industries. The deal report comes more than a year after Emerson announced its $1.6 billion purchase of operations technology company Open Systems International.