Yahoo! Inc., whose board was previously focused on the sale of the company after firing Carol Bartz, is now placing renewed emphasis on its search for a permanent CEO.

Former Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz was fired over the phone by Chairman Roy Bostock in early September. Bartz was hired by Yahoo!, the Sunnyvale, California Company in January 2009, to revive the once leading search engine company, but was unable to match the pace of innovation of other Silicon Valley giants such as Facebook and Google.

People familiar with the matter told Wall Street Journal that Yahoo!’s board was previously focused on the sale of the Internet Company. WSJ reported Wednesday that these people said even though Yahoo! announced it was undertaking a CEO search and a “strategic review,” the CEO search took a back seat to getting a better handle on the company’s strategic options.

Several Yahoo! board directors and the board’s financial advisors have since been contacted by potential suitors, according to people familiar with the matter. According to other people, tech companies Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. have considered potential bids for the Internet Company.

But the Company’s board felt it was important to place emphasis on the hiring of a new leader to run the company in the event no buyout offer emerged. Someone familiar with the matter told WSJ “the urgency is to focus on the core business and get a permanent leader,” this person said. “The CEO search will have an impact on the future structure of the company.”

Yahoo!’s board is looking to hire a leader who will consider a broad range of options, including a sale of the core online ad and website business, said a person familiar with the matter. The board is also interested in finding a new CEO with significant high-tech experience who could help Yahoo! launch new services and stay relevant against rivals Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., this person said.