NEW YORK, USA: Brocade Communications Systems Inc's top executive denied that the network equipment maker was looking for a buyer, disappointing investors who had pinned their hopes on a buyout.

The company's shares fell 6.5 percent, as its plans to grow through partnerships failed to bolster Wall Street's confidence in Brocade's competitive position amid a series of mergers and acquisitions among its peers.

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"The risk arbitrage community was trying to play a potential deal and, with the company saying they're not for sale, they're finally giving up, tossing in the towel," said Broadpoint AmTech analyst Brian Marshall.

Brocade was widely seen as having missed out on a buyout opportunity when Hewlett-Packard Co said it would buy 3Com Corp rather than Brocade.

People familiar with the matter told in October that Brocade, which sells network gear and software that help companies manage data networks, had put itself on the block and that HP was a possible buyer.

Chief executive Michael Klayko denied this.

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"We're not actively shopping ourselves. That's false," he said.

The HP-3Com deal, as well as other mergers and acquisitions in the industry, have raised concerns about whether Brocade can compete against rivals, including market leader Cisco Systems Inc.

"Obviously, if HP had decided to acquire Brocade, it would've worked out better for Brocade shareholders," said Matt Bryson, an analyst at Avian Securities.

He also noted that investors had hoped that, in the absence of an acquisition, HP would agree to an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) deal to resell Brocade's networking products. The 3Com deal also made such a deal unlikely.