“We offered 33 bucks – not too long ago – and it is 11 and a half (Yahoo share price). So I do not know what price might have got the job done,”

Steve Ballmer, the Microsoft Chief Executive recently said. He was responding to a query posed by David Smith, a Gartner analyst, on whether the firm might take another swing at acquiring Yahoo now that its stock is so low.

“It is clear that Yahoo did not want to sell the firm. It did not want to sell when we were ready to offer 33. They probably think it is worth at least 33 today.”

Yahoo declined to make any comment. Its shares after the hope of renewed negotiations rose on the Nasdaq, before falling again. In fact, shares of Yahoo have plunged to a new 5-1/2-year low since talks between the two firms broke off.

“Our position has not changed. They (Microsoft) have no interest in acquiring Yahoo. There are no discussions going on between the companies,”

a Microsoft spokesman said in a statement.

Despite the market’s new found excitement over the news, any pursuit of further fresh talks would get impeded by several vexing issues, comprising severely depressed stock price of Yahoo and also the rather poor outlook for the advertising market owing to the weak economy, analysts stated.