Following published reports that CanWest Global has teamed with U.S. private equity player Goldman Sachs to take a run at Alliance Atlantis Communications, which put itself on the block in December, the Toronto-based broadcaster and owner of 50% of the "CSI" franchise confirmed Friday that investors are indeed kicking the tires.

"Further to its previously announced process of exploring strategic alternatives, it is engaged in discussions regarding a possible sale of AAC," said a release from the notoriously tight-lipped company. "There can be no assurance that these discussions will result in a definitive agreement."

An AAC rep declined to elaborate.

Shares of Alliance Atlantis closed up 2.47% Friday on the TSX at C$51.49 ($43.90).

According to a report in the Globe & Mail on Friday, CanWest Global Communications, long considered a front-runner in the contest for AAC, has tapped New York-based Goldman Sachs to potentially take the "CSI" portion of AAC's holdings, a stake thought to be worth between $597 million and $682 million.

Or Goldman may help foot the bill in exchange for the "CSI" stake. CanWest is thinly spread financially, and it is uncertain if it would be able to free up the $1.8 billion that AAC is estimated to be worth.

Winnipeg-based CanWest, a diversified media company with print and broadcast interests in Canada and radio and TV broadcasting holdings in New Zealand, Australia and Ireland, is believed to be primarily interested in Alliance Atlantis' 13 pay TV channels.

In addition to its feevee channels and "CSI" stake, Alliance Atlantis also controls Motion Picture Distribution, which owns Momentum Pictures in the U.K. and Aurum in Spain. Alliance Atlantis controlling shareholder and co-founder Michael MacMillan is rumored to favor an all-in-one sale rather than breaking the company up.

Officials at CanWest Global and Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Other bidders for the company are expected to step forward this week. They include deep-pocketed pay TV company Astral Media, publishing and cable powerhouse Quebecor, cabler Rogers Communications and pay TV company Corus Entertainment, which is controlled by Shaw Communications, Canada's second-largest cabler.