The owner of the Daily Mail is in early discussions over a bid for the ailing US internet company Yahoo.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the media company is speaking with private equity firms about an offer.

A spokesman for the DailyMail.com said that, given the success of that site and Elite Daily, it has "been in discussions with a number of parties who are potential bidders".

He said the talks are in a very early stage and there is no certainty any transaction will take place.

Yahoo could not immediately be reached for comment.

The company is under intense pressure to revive its revenue growth and activist investor Starboard Value, a big stakeholder, is pushing for a change in leadership.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.