After being rebuffed multiple times, Microsoft made it clear that they are no longer interested in a Yahoo deal. Now that the Google-Yahoo search deal has fallen apart, however, the pressure is back on chief executive Jerry Yang and he is running out of options.

Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit, Yang said he was willing to sell the company at the right price and suggested that Microsoft might be a good candidate, yet the software giant is probably leery of re-engaging negotiations as long as he is running the show. Yahoo is currently trading at around $14.50, a lot less than the $33 per share offered earlier this year. In other words, Microsoft is the big winner here, either it gets to buy Yahoo on the cheap, or it can focus on improving its online business and steal market share from Yahoo while the latter continues to struggle.