Business Insider reports that Yahoo began "serious talks to buy" Imgur, the meme-laden photo-sharing site that grew of its symbiosis with Reddit, this fall. We heard a similar rumor from a source in late October that we weren't able to substantiate. At the time, the source said the deal "might be up to $200 million."

Based on the fact that this wouldn't be an acqui-hire for talent (Imgur's main asset is its users), how social the site is (it launched a new chat system in November), and how hard VCs have been trying to invest ("literally — literally — sliding term sheets under their door"), Business Insider says Yahoo will likely "have to offer something between $100 million and $500 million," noting that its not clear if founder Alan Schaaf wants to sell.

Imgur is only "marginally profitable" with money coming in from advertising, donations, pro accounts, and enterprise deals, but unlike other San Francisco darlings the dorm room-born company is bootstrapped and has very few employees.

Imgur's mainstream profile has grown since late October, when AllThingsD got word of a partnership between Imgur and Yahoo sports properties where Imgur supports "uploading and hosting for users who upload avatars and other art for their fantasy sports leagues."

At the time, AllThingsD noted that Marissa Mayer "has visited the startup multiple times." Just last week, the Atlantic fawned over Imgur under the headline "The Biggest Little Site In the World." But to us, Imgur will always be the first place we saw a man turn into a horse (NSFW).

If you have any information about the deal, please email nitasha@gawker.com.

[Top image via Imgur]