SAN FRANCISCO - Denying the threat of a troublesome buyout battle that could hit its unstable stock, Internet pioneer Yahoo Inc. restated its refusal, to sell to Microsoft Corp. for less than $45 billion, on Monday.

Yahoo’s boldness was quite obvious in a letter to Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, marked the latest twist in a struggle pitting two high-tech icons trying to create a more difficult confront to online search and advertising leader Google Inc.

The edgy struggle now appears to have reached a turning point after more than two months of generally behind-the-scenes manipulation.Ballmer heated up the issue on the weekend by setting April 26 a deadline for Yahoo to accept Microsoft’s offer.

If Yahoo’s board doesn’t change his mind,Ballmer threatened to decrease Microsoft bid’s and inquire Yahoo’s shareholders to change the 10 directors opposing a buyout in a “proxy” contest.

Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and Chief Executive Jerry Yang, also a member of the company’s board, fired back Monday in a letter that condemned Ballmer for not doing more to advance the negotiations.According to Bostock and Yang, Ballmer has attended at least two of the informal meetings held between Microsoft and Yahoo.

However, the letter didn’t rule out further discussions as long as Ballmer is prepared to enhance the unwelcomed offer, which Yahoo first insisted in early February after its board without any difference of opinion concluded the bid not high enough.

Microsoft had no immediate response to the Yahoo letter

The letter didn’t identify how much Yahoo believes its value, but some analysts have gathered that Microsoft could afford to pay as much as $34 or $35 per share — about $50 billion — to end the talk without further hostility.

In their Monday letter, Bostock and Yang stated that Yahoo stockholders with major stakes in the company agree Microsoft’s bid isn’t high enough, particularly since the offer has decreased by more than $2 billion.

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