Guardian iT, the beleaguered disaster recovery specialist, has been forced by the UK's Takeover Panel to confirm it has been approached by a possible buyer.
The company, which admitted this week to overstating its profits, forcing chairman Richard Raworth to resign, was told yesterday to issue a statement to the Stock Exchange. Speculation had mounted throughout the day after Guardian's shareprice began to climb rapidly.
In the statement, Guardian said it "has had very preliminary discussions which may or may not lead to an offer being made" for the company. It shares closed up 11.5p at 47.5p.
Hewlett-Packard the US technology company has emerged as a potential bidder.
