Sources deny rumors that Google is looking to acquire Akamai

Rumors of a plan by Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) to acquire content delivery network Akamai (Nasdaq: AKAM) ignited during after hours trading and increased the share price by as much as 17 percent.

But sources tell Bloomberg that search giant Google is not looking to buy Akamai, countering the rumors that were first reported by Business Insider yesterday. Representatives for Google and Akamai declined to comment on the report.

Akamai persistently has been the subject of takeover rumors.

In 2009, Google again was suggested as an Akamai suitor, a rumor that helped push the CDN's stock then, too. Even then, as one analyst said of Akamai: "They've been under takeover chatter before." Of course, those rumors cropped up during the time Google was on its "company-a-month" acquisition spree.

Bloomberg today also points out that the Cambridge, Mass. company, which counts Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) among its customers, has been mentioned as a takeover target 21 times between 2005 and 2010.

For more:
- see this Bloomberg report

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