The Timken Company (USA; NYSE: TKR;5251R9N7) announced it is in talks to divest its Torrington needle roller bearing business.

The potential U.S. buyer is reportedly Koyo / JTEKT Corporation.

In its news release, Timken simply said: "The Timken Co. announced it is in advanced discussions regarding the potential sale of its needle roller bearings business. However, the company has not yet reached a definitive agreement regarding the sale. There can be no assurance that a definitive agreement will be reached, nor that a sale, which would be subject to certain closing conditions, will be completed."

Timken acquired Torrington from Ingersoll-Rand in 2003 for $880 million, but over the past six years has sold off many bits and pieces of none-core operations in separate closings and minor divestitures.

Reports out of Japan indicate JTEKT has arranged financing sufficient to offer of bid in the neighborhood of $320 million for what remains of the needle roller bearing business.

Since acquiring the company, Timken has found it difficult to effectively integrate and leverage everything from Torrington's product lines, to operations, manufacturing, and sales and marketing efforts.

Timken also dealt with several long-lasting legacy issues, such as discovering I-R had used generous terms and discounts to pump up Torrington sales and cram the distribution chain full of bearings -- leaving Timken to work through several periods of unexpectedly slow sales for Torrington as its distributors sold down bloated inventories. In addition, Torrington had been on the market for long enough that, amid the uncertainty over its future, many of the company's most valuable and experienced employees had left the company.

Recently, Torrington's operations have become a poor fit with Timken's new strategic direction. That is, Timken has begun working toward dramatically reducing its reliance on and exposure to the North American auto and truck manufacturing industry -- precisely the markets forming the core of Torrington's sales.

Timken and JETKT are expected to announce a deal for Torrington within the next few weeks.