Yahoo and Microsoft once again announced Thursday that talks between the companies have ceased. According to Yahoo, discussions with Microsoft regarding an acquisition or a partial purchase have officially concluded.

An end to the Microsoft-Yahoo discussions is familiar to tech-news watchers who have been monitoring the months-long drama. The latest round failed after several meetings and conversations with Microsoft about numerous alternatives.

Making the Details Public

The most recent meeting took place on June 8th. Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and other Yahoo board members participated. At that meeting, Microsoft representatives stated unequivocally that Microsoft was not interested in pursuing an acquisition of all of Yahoo, even at the price range it had previously suggested, according to Yahoo.

With respect to an acquisition of Yahoo’s search business that Microsoft proposed, Yahoo’s board said it determined, after careful evaluation, that selling off the search business “would not be consistent with the company’s view of the converging search and display marketplaces.” It added that course “would leave the company without an independent search business that it views as critical to its strategic future” and, ultimately, “would not be in the best interests of Yahoo stockholders.”

“Yahoo declined to sell the search business to Microsoft because it was too strategic. Yahoo didn’t want to part with that — and Microsoft is no longer interested in buying the whole company,” said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. “If Yahoo really feels that search is strategic, the company will have to continue to invest in Panama or whatever successor platform comes next. Yahoo will have to continue to keep its search platform competitive with Google if it hopes for that piece of its business to remain viable.”

Turmoil in Yahoo

Yahoo said it remains focused on maximizing value for stockholders by continuing to execute its strategy to be the…