Brocade Communications Systems Inc is putting itself on the block and Hewlett-Packard Co is one of the companies that could be interested in buying the network gear maker, people familiar with the matter said.

Hewlett-Packard has looked at Brocade's assets, but has not made a formal bid, the sources said on Monday.

That could be because HP, a top maker of printers and server computers, is potentially interested in acquiring only certain assets of Brocade, one of the sources said.

The sources spoke anonymously because the sale process has not been made public.

Representatives for both companies declined to comment.

(Reporting by Anupreeta Das, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)

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