SANTA CLARA, California, March 20 (Reuters) - Synopsys ( SNPS )

CEO Sassine Ghazi said on Wednesday the company had

narrowed down potential suitors for its security software unit

to about half a dozen.

The company said last year it will sell its software

integrity business unit, which Bloomberg News has reported could

be valued at $3 billion.

At the company's annual developer conference in Santa Clara,

Ghazi said about three dozen possible buyers showed interest.

Its board has approved the initiation process for the

sale of the unit.

"It's a very competitive process with a lot of interested

parties," Ghazi said. He did not give a timeline for the

completion of a deal.

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in Santa Clara, California;

Additional reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese; Editing by Chris

Reese and Devika Syamnath)