Computer Sciences Corp.’s recent acknowledgment that the company might be acquired closed one avenue of speculation but opened numerous others.

Takeover rumors that first surfaced in November 2005 suggested that the $14 billion integration and outsourcing vendor was in play. CSC initially remained mum on the subject, but earlier this month, company officials said the board would consider selling CSC in light of expressions of interest from parties that they didn’t identify. Now speculation has shifted to the structure of a possible sale and its effect on customers, rivals and business partners.

CSC carefully noted that its willingness to consider its options does not mean that any such transaction is certain. But the mere possibility is enough to have partners, competitors, analysts and customers pondering the ramifications.

The acquisition of CSC would significantly reshape the information technology services market, some analysts say.

“CSC is so large. They have a global delivery capability that very few companies in their space have,” said Andy Efstathiou, research director at NelsonHall, a market research firm that follows the outsourcing market.

If a competitor purchased CSC, the roster of IT services firms with a global delivery presence would narrow significantly, Efstathiou said. Along with CSC, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and EDS are among the relatively few companies with that kind of reach, he said.

General Dynamics’ agreement last year to purchase Anteon was another indication of a shrinking top tier among integrators. Anteon, which has grown rapidly in recent years, topped the $1 billion mark in 2003.

“Anteon was migrating up, but then [it] got swallowed,” said Mark Amtower, founding partner of Amtower and Co., a federal marketing consulting firm.

The General Dynamics/Anteon deal is expected to close by the end of June.

Although government buyers may see fewer choices and less competition at the high end of the market, the customer impact should otherwise prove minimal, industry watchers say. A buyer can take over contracts held by the acquired firm through a process called novation, said Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Federal Sources. That suggests that agencies receiving CSC services at the time of an acquisition probably will not see much difference in the ongoing work.

CSC seemingly has little reason to sell, but Efstathiou said the company’s management may have a fiduciary responsibility to explore all options because several firms have tried to interest the board in talking about a deal.