There's a difference between being quiet about an acquisition and just completely lying about it though- especially from a company that relies on being considered trustworthy
If they said, "1P doesn't comment on rumors, etc or we have no comments at this time" like Apple it would be very off brand for them and would make people assume they were getting bought. If they didn't say anything people would assume they were getting bought. So all they can do is deny without blatantly lying such as they can't say something like, "we have had no talks with Apple about an acquisition or offering our special program to apple employees.". But they can say something like rumors are false, since they don't say what part of the rumor is false, and they aren't planning to sell until they actually do. We'll know very soon if Apple employees do get a special version soon and if that part of the rumor is true, one can assume they eventually will purchase them, or talent purchase.
They say that they currently plan to remain independent. It doesn't mean there're no acquisition talks. And also this doesn't mean that there're no conditions under which they consider being acquired.
