In interviews with Bloomberg News and Reuters today, Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang said he wasn't necessarily closing the door on further talks with Microsoft. The comments came as Yahoo's shares closed down more than 14 percent today following Microsoft's announcement Saturday that it was withdrawing its acquisition bid.

"We were negotiating a way to find common ground and then on Saturday they chose to walk away," Yang told Reuters. "They started it and they walked away." He added: "If they have anything new to say, we would be open ... I am more than willing to listen."

In his Saturday letter withdrawing the bid, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer cited the premium represented by Microsoft's original $31-per-share offer, the company's willingness to raise the bid to $33 per share, and wrote that he was "disappointed that Yahoo! has not moved towards accepting" the offer. Yahoo ultimately sought $37 per share.

In a post on the Yahoo blog Sunday, Yang sought to dispel the notion that Yahoo didn't take the Microsoft offer seriously enough.

Frankly, there's a lot of nonsense and misinformation in what's being reported. Just so we are all clear, here's what happened. The board took its mission very seriously. We clearly indicated to Microsoft that we were open to a transaction but only if it were on terms that fully recognized the value of Yahoo! and was in the best interests of our stockholders.

No one is celebrating about the outcome of these past three months… and no one should. We live and work in a competitive world and the Web is only going to get more competitive. Executing on our strategic plan is what matters most.

Microsoft shares closed down 16 cents today, at $29.08.