Chinese Internet company Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. on Thursday denied that e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. would take a stake in the company. Qihoo shares surges almost 10% on Wednesday on speculation the two were in talks over a potential deal.

Reuters, quoting Qihoo vice chairman Qu Xiaodong, said that they were "rumours someone has made up."  Qihoo specializes in security software and is China's second-largest search engine by users. The Internet company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion.

Meanwhile, Alibaba said that it will not comment on rumors or speculation. Alibaba is currently gearing up for an initial public offering that could conservatively value it at more than $100 billion, the report said.

Alibaba and Qihoo have cooperated in the past, having launched a product search engine for online shopping in May last year, Reuters said.

Qihoo shares shot up 9.3% on Wednesday on rumors that the two companies were in the advanced stages of discussions for Alibaba to take a stake in the search engine, the report said.