There were rumors going around at SXSW in April that CNN was in talks to acquire Mashable. Here’s what Reuters had to say about it at the time:

Mashable CEO Pete Cashmore at reportedly denied the rumors to Mashable staff.

Business Insider is now reporting, citing two unnamed sources, that Mashable execs have been preparing for an acquisition by CNN. Nicholas Carlson writes:

One source tells us that Mashable has audited its finances and sent them to Turner.
…

This source also says Mashable executives have been holding meetings to discuss which Mashable divisions will be integrated into CNN and which will not be. A second source close to Mashable confirms that executives have been working on a deal with CNN. This source speculates that the deal is 80% likely to close.

Personally, I like the idea of Conan O’Brien acquiring Mashable better: