Ballmer Kills Hopes for Bid, Pummeling Yahoo Shares

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Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer squelched hopes that the software giant would renew efforts to acquire Yahoo Inc., sending the Internet company's shares plunging 21%.

At Microsoft's annual shareholder meeting in Bellevue, Wash., Mr. Ballmer said his company, which was willing to pay nearly $45 billion to buy Yahoo earlier this year, had "moved on" and was "done with all acquisition discussions" with Yahoo.

Speculation about a Microsoft deal of some ...