• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, March 12, 2013

Macquarie Securities has thrown cold water on speculation that companies including Yahoo may want to buy struggling game developer Zynga. In a research note today, analyst Ben Schachter called rumors Yahoo might snap up Zynga “unfounded.”

“We believe that ZNGA is unlikely to be acquired anytime soon, as we don’t believe that Mark Pincus wants to sell at this time. Nor do we believe that Yahoo would have any interest in acquiring a content creator such as ZNGA when its strategy is to partner with varied content providers,” he wrote.

The takeover speculation helped send Zynga’s shares 10% higher on Monday. Its stock has also seen a run-up lately in relation to reports the company is close to launching real-money gaming in the U.K., and eventually in the U.S., opening up new revenue opportunities. Zynga shares were down more than 3% in early trading Tuesday to $3.77.