Market data vendor Bloomberg has refuted newspaper reports that the company is to be sold following founder Michael Bloomberg's victory in last week's mayoral elections in New York.
"The company is not for sale. Bloomberg is not in discussions with anyone. Bloomberg is not in talks with Thomson or with anyone else," company spokeswoman Chris Taylor told a Reuters reporter on Sunday.
Media speculation about the future of Bloomberg has intensified during the past week, culminating in a report in the Observer, a British Sunday newspaper, that Canadian publisher Thomson was preparing to bid $10 billion for the company.
Other potential bidders for the privately-held company would be SunGard and Pearson. Anti-trust considerations and market sentiment could stymie any approach by rival market data vendor Reuters.
Much of the media speculation has been engendered by the close association between Michael Bloomberg the man and the company he founded. In fact, the media magnate had already distanced himself from the day-to-day running of the company during the six-month election campaign. Lex Fenwick, the chief operating officer who has been at the helm during Bloomberg's absense, is widely expected to take over as CEO.