June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of Macy's Inc., the second- largest U.S. department-store chain, rose the most in more than a year and stock-option volume soared on speculation the company may be bought.

``There is talk of a private-equity buyout this weekend'' at $52 a share by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said Marc Weinberger, head trader at W. Quillen Securities in New York. At that price, the company would be valued at $23.9 billion.

Macy's spokesman Jim Sluzewski said the company doesn't comment on market speculation. David Lilly, a spokesman for KKR, and Goldman Sachs spokesman Michael DuVally declined to comment.

The former Federated Department Stores Inc., based in Cincinnati, changed its name to Macy's this month.

The shares rose $2.56, or 6.6 percent, to $41.43 at 4:06 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the largest jump since November 2005.

Trading in call options to buy the shares surged to a record 121,312, more than 35 times the 20-day average. The price of the most actively traded contracts, July $42.5 calls, jumped 16-fold to $1.70 from 10 cents.

Each call option gives investors the right, without the obligation, to buy 100 shares of a company at a specified price by a given date. A put conveys the right to sell 100 shares. Put volume also reached a record 12,332, a ninefold rise.

Sears Holdings Corp. is the biggest U.S. department store chain.

To contact the reporter on this story: Danny King in Los Angeles at dking19@bloomberg.net; Allen Wan in New York at awan3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 22, 2007 17:08 EDT