Yahoo! (YHOO) Chatter Heats Up...

Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) shares caught a bid heading into Wednesday's close after the New York Times' Dealbook posted a piece suggesting the company's Board will "kick the tires" on a deal to reduce or sell out of stakes in both Alibaba and Yahoo! Japan. After trading down as much as 2.4 percent earlier in the session, Yahoo! shares are now up 6.5 percent to $16.09.

The report comes just one day ahead of a Yahoo! Board meeting where directors are expected to consider recent interests. Sources say a deal to liquidate the Alibaba and Yahoo! Japan holdings, which would be tax free, would be valued around $17 billion. Alibaba and Softbank (majority owner of Yahoo! Japan) would likely create new entities made up of cash and other assets and swap these holdings for Yahoo!'s stakes.

Elsewhere, the WSJ is reporting the Yahoo! Board may reduce its stake in Alibaba to just 15 percent.

The rumor comes in contrast to the latest reports which indicated Yahoo! was leaning more toward a PE deal, specifically with Silver Lake.

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