Brocade Communications System Inc has received first-round bids from a handful of potential buyers as the company explores a sale, sources familiar with the matter said.

The San-Jose, California-based maker of switches and routers for managing data traffic, which has a market value of $2.35 billion, hired Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners in November to focus on a deal that could result in a leveraged buyout, the sources said.

A Brocade spokesperson declined to comment. Qatalyst Partners did not return calls for comment.

(Reporting By Nadia Damouni; Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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