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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cisco (O:CSCO) Chief Executive John Chambers on Wednesday said the networking company was not among potential suitors for data storage products maker EMC Corp (N:EMC), which the Wall Street Journal has said is exploring options including a sale.
Chambers, speaking at a Wall Street Journal breakfast, said he usually avoids commenting on potential deals but would make an exception in this case.
"If Joe and I were going to do something here we would have done it a year or two ago," he said, referring to EMC CEO Joe Tucci, who is expected to retire in February.
EMC has held merger talks with rivals Dell Inc [DI.UL] and Hewlett-Packard Co (N:HPQ), the Wall Street Journal has reported.
(This story corrects to clarify that the possibility of EMC being up for sale has been reported by the Wall Street Journal but never confirmed by the company.)
(Reporting By Christian Plumb; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)