Since last year, F5 Networks Inc. was a potential acquisition target for those looking to grow their data center offerings through a large purchase.  Interest in F5 Networks is bubbling to the surface again, with reports of a budding bidding war for the company.

IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Juniper and Cisco are all listed as possible buyers, according to this Reuters report.  Based in Seattle, Washington, F5 Networks improves delivery of application within data centers.  For larger companies looking to consolidate their tool sets, achieve streamlined virtualization and unified communications, F5 Networks looks might attractive.

For those companies that can afford to buy F5 networks, they’re also looking to establish themselves as a power-player in the growing cloud industry.  Shares of F5 Networks has risen as a result of becoming a sought-after acquisition, going from $40 per share a year ago, to $103 as of last Friday.

That gives F5 Networks a considerable valuation, though the price is still worthwhile to investors.  Just look at the bidding war that ensued over 3PAR, as HP and Dell duked it out for the cloud solution.  NetApp’s stock has also been on the rise, as Oracle reportedly eyes the company for an acquisition as well.

Taking on F5 Networks would mean more power features incorporated at the data server level, which is a growing necessity for cloud services transitioning to more virtualized systems.  It’s quite a game of chess for the enterprise, as HP focuses on a convergered network infrastructure, Cisco still relies on partnerships and coalitions to fill gaps, and Juniper Networks seeks to make gains amongst larger power players in the space.