Shares in Eidos, the British gaming firm behind the Tomb Raider and Hitman franchises, surged today following a bid by a US private equity group that includes rock star Bono and a former head of Electronic Arts. The company, called Elevation Partners offered £71million valuing the shares at 51p, 13p more than they were worth last week.

However gaming company SCI Entertainment seeing a bargain to be had, has stepped in at the eleventh hour and countered the offer with a £76 million, valuing the shares at 53.6p. At the time of writing, however shares have jumped even further - 26 percent to 57p suggesting that the battle has just started.

The shares hit a 10-year low on March 10 as delays to key new titles, tough terms on a bank loan and a first-half loss outweighed the market's speculation about a takeover approach.

>> Eidos - Official website of Eidos