SANTA CLARA, California, March 20 (Reuters) - Synopsys Chief Executive Sassine Ghazi on Wednesday said the company has narrowed potential suitors for its security software unit down to about a half dozen.

Synopsys said last year it will sell off the unit, which Bloomberg 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.

"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; Editing by Chris Reese)