Yahoo! is reportedly target of a purchase by AOL and several private equity firms, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday . Yahoo! shares gained 4.46 percent on Wall Street to close at 15.93 dollars.

The newspaper said Silver Lake Partners and Blackstone Group are among the firms that have expressed interest in either teaming up with AOL to buy Yahoo! or trying to take it private on their own.

This is not the first time Yahoo! is target of a purchase. The company rejected a 47-billion-dollar takeover bid by Microsoft two years ago.