BlackRock Inc may not be interested in hedge fund manager Man Group after all, according to a source.

A person close to BlackRock said on Wednesday that the company had no interest in acquiring Man Group . Shares of Man Group had risen on speculation that BlackRock, the world's biggest asset management firm, was eyeing the hedge fund firm.

Man Group was one of the biggest gainers on the FTSE 100.

Officially, New York-based BlackRock is not commenting on the speculation, which was fueled by a column in the Daily Mail. The British publication had reported that BlackRock was looking to make another large deal after buying Barclays exchange-traded fund business last year.

(Reporting by Matthew Goldstein; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)