Salesforce shares spike on report of Microsoft evaluating bid

Shares of Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) jumped 6.2 percent in late afternoon trading on Tuesday, after Bloomberg reported that Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) is evaluating a bid for the cloud software provider.

Salesforce shares rose from $71.4 to $75.82 in about a minute after which trading was temporarily halted.

Microsoft is evaluating a bid after Salesforce was approached by another potential buyer, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Microsoft is not in talks with Salesforce, and no deal is imminent, the report said. (http://bloom.bg/1DR2uB3)

Microsoft declined to comment, while Salesforce could not immediately be reached.

Bloomberg had reported last week that Salesforce was working with financial advisers to help it field takeover offers after being approached by a potential buyer.

The news sent the company's shares up as much as 17.3 percent to an all-time high of $78.46 last Wednesday.

Salesforce shares were up 2.7 percent at $73.53 on Tuesday after trading resumed, while Microsoft's shares were down 1 percent at $47.80.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)