The French daily Le Figaro published at the weekend a report that French-American software group Business Objects is in play and has commissioned Goldman Sachs to find a suitor.

Shares in the company, which has large market share in the Business Intelligence/Analytics market, rose strongly in trading on the Paris exchange.

Le Figaro's sources were not named, but it was enough to send shares up over 4%. 

Neither Bernard Liautaud, BOBJ's Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, nor CEO John G. Schwarz has yet made any public comment. The company's  applications - which include data integration, performance management, query and analysis, and reporting functions - are used to measure profitability, determine marketing and sales effectiveness, automate human resources functions, and analyze customers and vendors.