October 27 had been expected to be the big day when Microsoft and Yahoo! finally 'tied the knot' in their search and sales alliance … but the guests are still waiting.

Representatives of both sides insist there is no need for concern – it’s simply that the technicalities of the deal are taking longer to iron out than originally projected.

SearchEngineWatch’s Nathania Johnson, who’s always right on top of developments, quoted a statement from Yahoo! filed with the American Securities and Exchange Commission, the country’s financial markets watchdog, which said that “given the complex nature of the transaction, there remain some details to be finalized.

“The parties are working diligently on finalizing the agreements, have made good progress to date, and have agreed to execute the agreements as expeditiously as possible,” the statement continued.

This was followed by a joint release from both parties, aimed at calming fears that the deal was proving stickier than expected.

It said: “Microsoft and Yahoo! are committed to this agreement…Given the complex nature of this transaction there remain some issues that need some additional clarity and definitive details.”

The statement shied away from making another specific forecast on a date for the deal to be signed off, simply stating that: “Both companies are optimistic that we will be able to close this deal by early 2010.”

So it seems that, as is the fashion these days, the ‘pre-nup’ is keeping plenty of lawyers busy.