Barracuda Networks, the California-based information technology security company with some 90 employees in Ann Arbor, today sought to deny rumors that it's trying to acquire one of its top competitors.

The rapidly growing company was forced to issue a press release to repudiate market speculation that it's negotiating a deal to acquire IT security rival SonicWALL.

SonicWALL, which is publicly traded on Nasdaq (SNWL), told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week that it had received an unsolicited acquisition offer from a private company it did not identify, Reuters reported.

That report came after private equity firm Thoma Bravo had made its own smaller bid for the 819-person company.

Issuing a news release specifically designed to deny a rumor is a rare move for any company and indicates that the speculation may have been influencing the market.

That the market believes Barracuda is capable of besting a private equity firm to acquire the publicly traded company illustrates investors' faith in Barracuda's financial strength.

Barracuda, which has some 700 employees, would be absorbing a company with a market capitalization north of $650 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

“The recent speculation that Barracuda Networks is involved in negotiations with SonicWALL is unfounded,” Barracuda CEO Dean Drako said in the release. “We have completed a number of successful acquisitions, including a public company, so it is not surprising that some in the industry are speculating we are engaged in these discussions; however, we are not having any such discussions."

The news comes after AnnArbor.com reported last week that Barracuda is accelerating its growth plan at its offices on 201 Depot St. in Ann Arbor. The company, which has about 12,000 square feet of space in the office, is hosting a private career fair tonight with hopes of hiring 10 new workers.

Guy Suter, director of data protection and backup services for Barracuda, said last week that he expects Barracuda to continue hiring employees in Ann Arbor at a rate of about one per week “into the foreseeable future.”