* Trend Micro says received offers in the past
* Would consider proposals at a premium-company
* Prefers to remain independent -paper citing CEO
* Possibility that Trend Micro would be taken over-analyst
* Shares up 10.3 pct, valuing the company at $4.3 billion (Recasts after company statement, updates share price)
TOKYO, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Shares of Japan's Trend Micro leaped 10 percent on Thursday after a Taiwanese newspaper said the anti-virus computer software developer had received takeover proposals, but they ended off highs after the company said no offers were now on the table.
Investors have speculated Trend Micro may be a takeover target after chipmaker Intel said last month it would buy anti-virus software maker McAfee in a $7.7 billion deal seen sparking industry consolidation.
Taipei industry newspaper DigiTimes cited chief executive Eva Chen as saying Trend Micro regularly receives takeover proposals and would consider any actual offers, although it prefers independence.
An official at the company later said there had been proposals in the past, but that none were current. Trend Micro would consider any offers at a premium, he said.
"We can say at this point there are none," Koichi Habara told Reuters. "We cannot comment on any speculation."
An analyst said a takeover was conceivable, given current business conditions and industry enthusiasm for acquisitions.
"There is a possibility that it (Trend Micro) will be taken over," said Deutsche Securities analyst Satoru Kikuchi. "I don't think business is going all that well, and they are probably not as confident as they were 10 years ago. So, if they get a good offer, they may sell."
Kikuchi, however, added he could not think of any obvious candidates as buyers.
"Intel's purchase of McAfee was not seen in the industry as reasonable. It was too expensive. They didn't have any special technology and neither do Trend Micro. With viruses, it's simply a question of tackling them one by one, so there is no real need to buy this company," Kikuchi said.
The DigiTimes article did not mention any specific offers. It cited Chen as saying she believes Trend Micro is worth more than McAfee.
Trend Micro shares ended up 10.3 percent at 2,576 yen on Thursday, valuing the company at $4.3 billion. The stock earlier soared more than 21 percent, or by its daily limit of 500 yen, to a four-month intraday high of 2,836 yen.
More than 5 million Trend Micro shares changed hands, roughly 6 times the daily average over the past 3 months. (Reporting by Sachi Izumi, Isabel Reynolds and James Topham; Editing by Nathan Layne)