Speculation continues to buffet Yahoo

Speculation continues to buffet Yahoo as reports emerged late Wednesday that private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners is working with Microsoft and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on a proposal to buy the Internet company.The same day, Yahoo c-founder Jerry Yang insisted there's no deal in the works. "The intent going in is not to put ourselves up for sale," Yang said at the All Things Digital Asia conference in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg. "The intent is to look at all options. There's plenty of options for the board, and plenty of options for our shareholders to realize value."Under the Silver Lake proposal, Microsoft would put up several billion dollars, with the Canadian Pension Plan board investing a chunk and additional financing arranged by banks, according to the Wall Street Journal.Microsoft made an unsuccessful run at Yahoo a few years ago and was rumored to be back in the race. But others, including AOL, Jack Ma of Alibaba Group, and a host of private equity firms are also eyeing the company, which has hired investment bankers to explore strategic options.Yahoo's interim CEO Tim Morse said Tuesday the process was like to take some time. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com