The ongoing drama around the future of the worlds number two search engine Yahoo! has taken yet another twist, with co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang saying that “the best thing for Microsoft to do is buy Yahoo!” and that Yahoo! Remained “open to everything.”

This statement follows a stormy six months for Yahoo, in which they were almost bought by Microsoft, endured a possible board room takeover from investor Carl Icahn, were close to buying struggling AOL and then most recently saw a lucrative advertising partnership with Google collapse after Google pulled out following regulatory concerns.

Having turned down Microsoft’s offer of $33 a share back in May though, a deal which if successful would have changed the face of online search, it looks like Yahoo! has missed out on a Microsoft buy out. Microsoft CEO and internet legend Steve Ballmer reiterated that Microsoft is “not interested in going back and re-looking at an acquisition.”

Yahoo! Investor Carl Icahn has previously argued that Yahoo! made it as difficult as possible for Microsoft to acquire the company back in May, insisting on prohibitively expensive staff retention guarantees, something which Yahoo! has since denied. Either way, it doesn’t look like Microsoft is in any hurry to get back round the bargaining table.

With Yahoo’s stock now worth $13.96 a share compared to $29.88 back in February, its market share continuing to slide and opportunities to grow the business becoming fewer and fewer you have to wonder what’s next for the troubled search engine. Buyout by another company? Renewed efforts to acquire AOL? Let us know what you think Yahoo! will do next in the forums.