Yelp, the operator of consumer review website yelp.com, is exploring a sale that could fetch more than $3.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Yelp’s shares rose as much as 16 per cent yesterday.

The San Francisco-based company is working with investment bankers and has been in touch with potential buyers in recent weeks, the journal reported. Yelp, which went public in 2012, had a market value of about $2.86 billion as of Wednesday, according to data.

The company, whose subscriber growth has been slowing in an increasingly competitive US market, has been trying to expand in other markets and diversify into restaurant bookings, event management and payments.

A deal is not imminent, the journal cited one of the people as saying, and it’s possible Yelp will decide against a sale. – (Reuters)