Months after inking the deal, and days after passing a revised proposal to the Department of Justice, which is screening it for antitrust violations, Google and Yahoo announced plans to trash the idea altogether.

The change of heart is a surprising one for Google, which spent the last four months asserting its sponsored search liaison with Yahoo would improve the industry at large.

But it can afford to take a few blows. Yahoo, on the other hand, may languish without its attentions. The latter was counting on the partnership to boost annual revenue by $800 million, which could win back skeptical shareholders that critiqued its rejection of Microsoft's unsolicited buyout bid, which would have valued the company at $47.5 billion.

At the time, the offer represented about $33 per share of Yahoo's stock. Today Yahoo's stock price hovers between $13 and $14. Talk circulated that Yahoo may try appealing to its former suitor for another offer, but Microsoft — which spent over four months pursuing it without cease — has expressed little interest in rekindling the flame.

Yahoo released its Q3 earnings last month. The company reported a 64% drop in net income and confirmed plans to lay off 10% of its workforce — nearly 1500 employees.