NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - There is a growing expectation that shareholders could force business software maker Siebel Systems Inc. to dispense much of the $2.2 billion in cash it holds, or even sell the company, according to a published report.

The Wall Street Journal, in its "Heard on the Street" column Thursday, said those expectations are the reason for a 12 percent rise in the company's stock in the last seven weeks. Shares of Siebel (Research) fell to a 52-week low after an earnings warning April 6.

Among those seen leading investor pressure on the company are financier Carl Icahn, Tudor Investment Corp., an activist hedge fund, and Jana Partners LLC, which the newspaper reports worked with Icahn to force a big share buyback at Kerr-McGee Corp.

"There's a lot of discontent," Barry Rosenstein, Jana Partners' chief investment officer, told the newspaper. "I get the feeling there's a shareholder revolution under way."

Company executives so far have rebuffed calls to distribute Siebel's cash through a stock buyback or dividend, according to the newspaper. Representatives of Oracle Corp. and Siebel recently discussed a potential acquisition, but a person familiar with the matter said talks aren't active.

Herbert Denton, president of Providence Recovery Partners, a unit of Providence Capital Inc., told the newspaper that dissident shareholders may seek to withhold votes for Tom Siebel, the company's founder and chairman, who is among three directors standing for re-election at its June 8 meeting. The company could face a proxy fight next year, said Rosenstein. He told the Journal that the new investors have the company on a "short leash" that leaves management with two choices: distribute the cash or sell the company.

Siebel spokesmen wouldn't comment for the report.

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