US-based RSA Security has confirmed that it is engaged in negotiations with unnamed parties regarding a potential sale of the company.
The Massachusetts-based digital security firm released the statement in response to a New York Times report concerning the potential sale of the company.
RSA says no definitive agreement has been reached and "there can be no assurance that any agreement will be reached or that a transaction will be consummated".
According to the New York Times report RSA put itself up for sale several months ago and is now close to being acquired by EMC Corporation, or at least one other bidder, in a deal thought to be worth more than $1.8 billion.
RSA Security has a market value of $1.46 billion. For the year ended December 31 2005, the company reported revenue of $310.1 million and net income of $42.4 million.
In April this year RSA acquired California authentication outfit PassMark Security for $44.7 million. This came four months after its $145 million take-over of anti-fraud firm Cyota and marked a further step in the vendor's efforts to establish itself as a strategic security hub for the online financial marketplace.