Yahoo!’s board met over the weekend and rejected a new proposal from Microsoft Corp. that would have seen the Internet company broken up.

The proposal, which the board of Yahoo (YHOO) rejected at a meeting Saturday, would have given Microsoft (MSFT) Yahoo's search business, with the rest of the company going to investor Carl Icahn. The rejection marked the first indication, though, that Icahn and Microsoft are acting closely in trying to take over or split apart Yahoo.

Yahoo seemed angered by the proposal, which came with a 24-hour deadline attached to it from Microsoft.

"It is ludicrous to think that our board could accept such a proposal," Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said in a statement Yahoo issued noting its rejection. "While this type of erratic and unpredictable behavior is consistent with what we have come to expect from Microsoft, we will not be bludgeoned into a transaction that is not in the best interests of our stockholders."

Bostock also wrote that Microsoft was being "completely absurd and irresponsible" in refusing to meet with the current board and management of Yahoo, which Microsoft – and Icahn – have been trying to remove.

There were signs, though, that Yahoo was still interested in a further deal. Yahoo said in its statement that it was still open to selling the entire company for a minimum of $33 a share, and it was also open to deal just involving its Web-search operations. Microsoft rejected both offers, Yahoo said, and Microsoft officials weren’t immediately available for comment Sunday.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the latest proposal came together in recent days. Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith initiated the talks with a phone call to Ron Olson, the lawyer for Yahoo's independent directors a few days ago, according to the Journal. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Icahn and Bostock discussed the proposal over several phone calls, the Journal said.