Microsoft exec says at end of road on Yahoo

LONDON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has come to the "end of the story" with Yahoo Inc and will now focus on its own, clear strategy of evolving as a leading provider of Internet services, the president of Microsoft International said.

Jean-Philippe Courtois told Reuters in an interview in London on Tuesday Microsoft had made a compelling offer but had decided to walk away after much discussion because the "stars just didn't align".

"We decided to move on and basically withdraw our offer and continue (executing) on our strategy to become and evolve as a leading provider of Internet services in the online advertising world, media, social networking etc," he said.

"So that is what the company is going to focus on."

Asked if that was the end of the story with Yahoo, he replied: "Absolutely, that's the end of the story. We are moving on because our strategy is very clear."

Yahoo chief Jerry Yang told Reuters in an interview on Monday he had "mixed feelings" about events at the weekend, when talks broke down, but said Yahoo would still be open and more than willing to listen if Microsoft had anything new to say.

Shares in Yahoo fell 15 percent on Monday and some analysts said the drop was cushioned by investors who were betting Microsoft would eventually come back to the table.

(Reporting by Kate Holton and Matt Cowan; Editing by David Holmes)