Rumours of a plan by Microsoft to invest figures of between $1 billion and $3 billion as part of a planned buyout have been triggered by a report from CNBC citing close sources.

Three way talks are reportedly being held between Dell, Microsoft and investment firm Silver Lake Partners with a goal to buyout Dell. The importance of Dell to Microsoft, in distributing the company’s software was given as a potential reason for the move.

Dell has been significantly hit by reduced hardware sales with the decline of the pc market and the impact of the global recession.