Shares in cyber security company Imperva Inc (NYSE:IMPV) soared on Friday after a report claimed that it had attracted interest from several companies.
Technology giants Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) are among those rumoured to be interested, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg’s sources, who it said asked not to be identified because the information is private, added that Forcepoint, Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) and Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) have also held discussions with Imperva.
According to one of the insiders, bids are due in a couple of weeks’ time.
Last month, Imperva hired merger and acquisition advisory firm Qatalyst to explore the possibility of a sale after receiving takeover interest.
Despite today’s rise, the stock is still down around 17% since the beginning of the year.
Imperva supplies threat detection, breach prevention and other data-protection products for a variety of industries including health care and financial services, as well as the government.
Cyber security companies have become increasingly popular in recent years with several big players suffering high-profile data hacks, including Yahoo!.
So far there has been no official comment from any of the parties concerned.
Shares were up 21% to US$52.40.