** Shares of Australia's Iress IRE.AX rise as much as 2.8% to A$9.09, their biggest intraday pct gain since November 26

** Stock among top gainers in the ASX 200 benchmark

** Local media reports that Blackstone has set up a new company that could bid for Iress, hinting at a strong pursuit of the fintech firm

** Iress first confirmed potential takeover offer from Blackstone in August where it shared that it was in talks with both the U.S. investment giant and private equity firm Thoma Bravo over new proposal

** A potential transaction value was not disclosed but Iress currently holds market cap of A$1.65 billion ($1.09 billion)

** Stock down 3.4%, YTD

($1 = 1.5106 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru)

((Sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com;))